By a vote of 61 – 37 the U.S. Senate passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. More troubling than the amount of pork contained in the bill was a provision that will affect “every individual in the United States,” and dramatically alter the way that doctors practice medicine. The bill allocates $20 billion to establish the Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology. The role of the coordinator goes much further than computerizing the health records of all Americans. As former Lieutenant Governor of New York, Becky McCaughey, points out in her commentary on Bloomberg.com, the new office will “monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective.” See her article that triggered an avalanche of calls, emails and faxes to Capitol Hill.

For a look at the actual provision of the bill, click here.

There is still time, but not much, to get this provision removed during the reconciliation process between the House and Senate versions of the bill. The only way this will happen is for at least two of the three Republican senators who voted in favor of the bill to threaten to vote No if this provision is not removed. Let them know how you feel about government-run healthcare.

Send emails to the three senators through their websites:

Senator Susan Collins: Click here to email Senator Collins.

Senator Olympia Snowe: Click here to email Senator Stowe.

Senator Arlen Specter: Click here to email Senator Specter.

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