WILL UNIONS ADMINISTER OBAMACARE?

Mark Mix at the Wall Street Journal has an excellent piece on the level of involvment unions will have in Obamacare. Mix seems to be asserting that a common theme in all of the various bills floating through congress will force the health care industry to become unionized.

He even provides recent examples from the last ten years that would serve as microcosms for WHAT WE CAN EXPECT if Obamacare passes.

The Senate version opens the door to implement forced unionization schemes pursued by former Govs. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois in 2005 and Gray Davis of California in 1999. Both men repaid tremendous political debts to Andy Stern and his Service Employees International Union (SEIU) by reclassifying state-reimbursed in-home health-care (and child-care) contractors as state employees—and forcing them to pay union dues.

Following this playbook, the Senate bill creates a "personal care attendants workforce advisory panel" that will likely impose union affiliation to qualify for a newly created "community living assistance services and support (class)" reimbursement plan.

SEIU and ACORN have benefitted mightily by the Stimulus package. What groups of people do labor unions have absolute disdain for? Capitalists come to mind. Would their bias factor in to decisions about who should receive care?

Mix then points to the tremendous powers that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius would have while being directed by union officials.

Ms. Sebelius will be taking her marching orders from the numerous union officials who are guaranteed seats on the various federal panels (such as the personal care panel mentioned above) charged with recommending health-care policies. Big Labor will play a central role in directing federal health-care policy affecting hundreds of thousands of doctors, surgeons and nurses.

At what point would patients have to pay union dues before receiving treatment?

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