Yesterday, as the House Energy and Commerce Committee marked-up the Democrat's proposed health care reform legislation, Democrats made it clear that they are more than willing to put a Washington bureaucrat between you and your doctor.

Congressman Phil Gingrey (R-GA), a former ob-gyn who practiced for 26 years before being elected to Congress and a member of the Committee, offered an amendment that would prevent government bureaucrats at the proposed Center for Quality Improvement from dictating to physicians what treatments they can or can't offer.

As Committee Republicans have noted, "in the Democrat's legislation, the Center is tasked with determining what treatments and procedures are most cost effective. This manner of government sponsored research, in conjunction with the new Federal crowd-out health plan would represent the first step towards implementing a policy of bureaucrat health care rationing."

Rep. Gingrey's commonsense amendment was defeated by an almost straight party-line vote, with only one Democrat voting with all the Republicans.

Democrats also rejected another amendment that would have allowed state governments to decide what kind of insurance coverage to offer public employees.  So Minnesotans don’t want their state to pay for abortion services for state or local employees?  Republicans can respect that.  Democrats, on the other hand, want DC to dictate the very specifics of all these health care plans – and if states refuse, they’d have their funding withheld. 

As Congressman Henry Waxman, Chairman of the Committee, stated, ““We can’t tell states what to do directly.  We have to use whatever leverage we have over them.”

This is the point to their health care proposal?  Putting government right in the middle of the health decisions that should be made by you and your doctor? This is wrong, and not the path our nation should be following.