Doctors Support Proposed Florida Amendment to Protect Rights of Doctors and Patients

July 29, 2009 - PRLog -- Doctors on Strike for Freedom in Medicine, a private organization that champions individual rights and freedom in medicine, today applauded the several Florida State legislators who on Monday proposed an amendment to the State Constitution intended to stop the federal government from taking over medicine.

“Washington politicians are poised to inject a massive, lethal dose of statism into the heart of healthcare--one that would violate the rights of doctors and patients to make personal, private, and independent healthcare decisions,” said Dr. Gregory Garamoni, founder of Doctors on Strike. “This 'statist medicine' would induce grave waves of arrhythmia - inflation, price controls, lower quality, doctor shortages, waiting periods, and rationing.”

“Doctors, patients, and law makers must stand together now to bring a halt to this leftist-led, lemming-like leap into healthcare hell,” Garamoni said.  “We urge legislators all over the country to follow Florida’s lead by creating political firewalls in every state to protect us from any further federal infringement on states’ rights and individual liberty. ”

State Senator Carey Baker (R-Eustis) and State Representative Scott Plakon (R-Longwood) filed legislation (HJR 37- Health Care Services) on Monday to amend Florida's Constitution “to prohibit laws or rules from compelling any person, employer, or health care provider to participate in any health care system; permit person or employer to purchase lawful health care services directly from health care provider; permit health care provider to accept direct payment from person or employer for lawful health care services; exempt persons, employers, and health care providers from penalties and fines for paying or accepting direct payment for lawful health care services; permit purchase or sale of health insurance in private health care systems; and specifies what amendment does not affect or prohibit.”  

"Today, we're drawing the line in the sand. It is bad enough that our federal government wants to choose your doctor and ration your treatment," Senator Baker said. "But to do so virtually in secret and in such a rush proves that the goal is not to get better health care but to get socialized health care."

“The federal government and its bureaucracies dictating who, when and what kind of treatment you receive is not reform at all,” said Representative Plakon. “We believe this unprecedented power-grab by President Obama and Congress is clearly not in the best interests of the citizens of Florida.”

“The proposed constitutional amendment may be the only way left to prevent the destruction of the independent practice of medicine that has served us so well for so many centuries,” said Dr. Garamoni.

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Doctors on Strike for Freedom in Medicine has the mission of preserving, protecting, and promoting freedom in healthcare. Our organization’s most pressing goal is to defeat HR3200 and other statist healthcare reform proposals now circulating in Washington. To this end, we are actively encouraging doctors and patients to put intense political pressure on legislators during their deliberations on healthcare reform. We supply doctors and patients with the intellectual and political ammunition to do this. We are calling on doctors to be prepared to go on strike against more government-run healthcare. We want doctors to let the country know - now - that if the President signs any legislation that establishes another government healthcare plan, they will "go on strike": Doctors will refuse to participate in any new government healthcare plan, and they will resign from all government healthcare programs, including, but not limited to Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE.