Medical Rights Act: New Legislation Ghost-Authored By Frank Luntz

Luntz, Kirk & Dent: Americans Want Solutions

Kirk/Dent Release:  "'President Obama rightly placed health care reform among his top priorities for this Congress,' Congressman Kirk said.  'Health insurance premiums have increased by nearly 120 percent since 1999, with approximately 45 million Americans uninsured.  We need reform that lowers costs, increases choice and expands access while protecting the basic right of patients to control their own medical decisions.'"  ["Centrist GOP Leaders: Congress Can Protect Doctor-Patient Relationship," Rep. Kirk Release, 5/20/09]

Luntz Memo, Rule 2: "Acknowledge the 'crisis' or suffer the consequences.  If you say there is no healthcare crisis, you give your listener permission to ignore everything else you say...A better approach is to deny the crisis in your terms... 'If some bureaucrat puts himself between you and your doctor, denying you exactly what you need, that's a crisis.'" [The Language of Healthcare 2009, by Frank Luntz, accessed 5/21/09, emphasis original]

Luntz, Kirk & Dent: "Delayed Care Is Denied Care"

Kirk/Dent Release: "Government-run health care programs in Canada and the United Kingdom show us the dangers of taking away personal choice. Long waits and denied care for routine procedures are rampant in both countries as bureaucrats dictate when and if patients may be treated.  Make no mistake - delayed care is denied care.  The Medical Rights Act guarantees that the government will not come between a doctor and a patient.  I look forward to working with President Obama and the congressional leadership to make sure we do not repeat the mistakes of Canada and Britain.  Congress should ensure these protections are the centerpiece of a comprehensive health care reform plan."  ["Centrist GOP Leaders: Congress Can Protect Doctor-Patient Relationship," Rep. Kirk Release, 5/20/09, emphasis added]

Luntz Memo, Rule 3: "'Time' is the government healthcare killer...Nothing else turns people against the government takeover of healthcare that the realistic expectation that it will result in delayed and potentially even denied treatment, procedures and/or medications. 'Waiting to buy a care or even a house won't kill you.  But waiting for the healthcare you need - could.  Delayed care is denied care.'" [The Language of Healthcare 2009, by Frank Luntz, accessed 5/21/09, emphasis original]

Luntz, Kirk & Dent: Protect The Doctor-Patient Relationship

Kirk/Dent Release: "'As Congress begins to discuss how best to address America's health care challenges, we must protect the sacrosanct relationship between a patient and a doctor,' Congressman Dent said. 'We should look for common ground in reforms that make health care more accessible and affordable, while improving quality and promoting personalized care. One of the greatest strengths of our health care system is that Americans can rely on getting the care that they need when they need it. This legislation will assure Americans that their health care decisions will continue to be made between themselves and their physician.'" ["Centrist GOP Leaders: Congress Can Protect Doctor-Patient Relationship," Rep. Kirk Release, 5/20/09; emphasis added]

Luntz Memo, Rule 7: "'One-size-does-NOT-fit-all.' ...Call for the 'protection of the personalized doctor-patient relationship.'" [The Language of Healthcare 2009, by Frank Luntz, accessed 5/21/09, emphasis original]

Luntz, Kirk & Dent: Patients Shouldn't Wait For Care

Medical Rights Act of 2009, "In Brief": "Congress should guarantee the right of every American to make their privately-funded health care decisions with their doctor.  The Medical Rights Act protects each patient's doctor relationship, the integrity of the medical profession and the right of Americans to choose the care they deem appropriate without federal delay or restriction." ["Centrist GOP Leaders: Congress Can Protect Doctor-Patient Relationship," Rep. Kirk Release, 5/20/09]

Luntz Memo, Rule 6: "Healthcare quality = 'getting the treatment you need, when you need it.' ... 'The plan put forward by the Democrats will deny people treatments they need and make them wait to get the treatments they are allowed to receive.'" [The Language of Healthcare 2009, by Frank Luntz, accessed 5/21/09, emphasis original]

Luntz Memo, Rule 10: "It's not enough to just say what you're against.  You have to tell them what you're for.  It's okay (and even necessary) for your campaign to center around why this healthcare plan is bad for America...What Americans are looking for in healthcare that your 'solution' will provide is, in a word, more." [The Language of Healthcare 2009, by Frank Luntz, accessed 5/21/09, emphasis original]

Luntz, Kirk & Dent: (In Case You've Forgotten) Health Care Is About People

Kirk/Dent Release: "Stories of poor care under a government-run system are common in Britain.  Last February, the Daily Mail reported on Mrs. Dorothy Simpson, 61, who had an irregular heartbeat.  Officials at the National Health Service (NHS) denied her care and told her she was 'too old.'  The Guardian reported in June 2007 that one in eight NHS hospital patients wait more than a year for treatment.  By enacting the Medical Rights Act, Congress will ensure Americans keep the choice, quality and access currently denied citizens of the U.K. and Canada (Canadian law actually bans patients from paying for care themselves, even if denied care)." ["Centrist GOP Leaders: Congress Can Protect Doctor-Patient Relationship," Rep. Kirk Release, 5/20/09, parentheses original]

Luntz Memo, Rule 1: "Humanize your approach...From now on, healthcare is about people." [The Language of Healthcare 2009, by Frank Luntz, accessed 5/21/09, emphasis original]

In the "Section-by-Section Analysis" of the legislation, Reps. Kirk and Dent prove that their "moderate" alternative brings no substantive changes to health care reform and does nothing to address the exorbitant costs associated with private health care in the United States.  What they continue to present, however, are the grossly regurgitated talking points issued by Frank Luntz weeks ago. 

Section 2, Rule 4: The Federal Government Is Scary

Medical Rights Act of 2009, Section 2: "This section prohibits the federal government from regulating privately supported medicine, legally protecting the doctor-patient relationship against federal controls or rationing for care not paid for by the federal government.  The same applies to the practice of other health care professionals (nurses, physician therapists, etc.).  In addition, this section prevents the federal government from regulating the hiring practices of organizations that provide health care, such as hospitals, clinics, and the like." ["Centrist GOP Leaders: Congress Can Protect Doctor-Patient Relationship," Rep. Kirk Release, 5/20/09]

Luntz Memo, Rule 4: "The arguments against the Democrats' healthcare plan must center around 'politicians,' 'bureaucrats,' and 'Washington'...not the free market, tax incentives, or competition...[Americans] are deathly afraid that a government takeover will lower their quality of care - so they are extremely receptive to the anti-Washington approach." [The Language of Healthcare 2009, by Frank Luntz, accessed 5/21/09, emphasis original]

Section 3, Rule 5: A Canadian-Style Health System Will Prevent Care For Americans

Medical Rights Act of 2009, Section 3: "This section protects the right of patients to obtain health care services themselves, regardless of any federal program that might apply.  For example, Canadian patients are prohibited from paying for their own health care, even if the government system denies or delays treatment needed to keep the patient alive."  ["Centrist GOP Leaders: Congress Can Protect Doctor-Patient Relationship," Rep. Kirk Release, 5/20/09]

Luntz Memo, Rule 5: "The healthcare denial horror stories from Canada & Co. do resonate, but you have to humanize them. [...] 'In countries with government run healthcare, politicians make YOUR healthcare decisions. THEY decide if you'll get the procedure you need, or if you are disqualified because the treatment is too expensive or because you are too old.  We can't have that in America.'" [The Language of Healthcare 2009, by Frank Luntz, accessed 5/21/09, emphasis original]

Section 7, Rules 2 & 4: Keep Bureaucrats Out Of Health Care

Medical Rights Act of 2009, Section 7: "This section contains various definitions. The term 'health care services' means any lawful service intended to diagnose, cure, prevent, or mitigate the adverse effects of any disease, injury, infirmity, or physical or mental disability, including the provision of any lawful product whose use is so intended. This definition has been chosen very carefully.  For example, it specifies that the service be 'intended' to produce health benefits.  This is meant to prevent the government from excluding services that are not, in the minds of politicians, appropriate or cost-effective by claiming they are not actually 'health care services.'  Decisions on appropriateness and to whether something is worth its cost should be up to health care professionals and patients, not bureaucrats or regulators.  Therefore, anything 'intended' to have health benefits in the view of the patient and the health care professional." ["Centrist GOP Leaders: Congress Can Protect Doctor-Patient Relationship," Rep. Kirk Release, 5/20/09, emphasis added]

Luntz Memo, Rule 2: "Acknowledge the 'crisis' or suffer the consequences.  If you say there is no healthcare crisis, you give your listener permission to ignore everything else you say...A better approach is to deny the crisis in your terms... "If some bureaucrat puts himself between you and your doctor, denying you exactly what you need, that's a crisis." [The Language of Healthcare 2009, by Frank Luntz, accessed 5/21/09, emphasis original]

Luntz Memo, Rule 4: "The arguments against the Democrats' healthcare plan must center around 'politicians,' 'bureaucrats,' and 'Washington'...not the free market, tax incentives, or competition...[Americans] are deathly afraid that a government takeover will lower their quality of care - so they are extremely receptive to the anti-Washington approach." [The Language of Healthcare 2009, by Frank Luntz, accessed 5/21/09, emphasis original]