Is PPACA a form of organized crime?

• Position: ObamaCare - Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

"What is organized crime? The dictionary defines it as a means of generating income through bribery and threats of grievous retribution, often buying political patronage for immunity from exposure and prosecution. Perpetrators of organized crime typically use credible front organizations, such as hospitals and charities. These establishments do not tolerate competition and constantly fight for monopolization, or 'market share.'

"When organized crime is involved, goods and services cost more," says Alieta Eck, a physician who has been in private practice in Piscataway, N.J., since 1988. She also is cofounder of New Jersey's Zarephath Health Center, a free clinic for the poor and uninsured that currently cares for 300-400 patients per month utilizing the donated services of volunteer physicians and nurses.

So, how does organized crime pertain to our current medical care delivery system? "Since the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, there is a concerted effort to put everyone into a highly organized 'insurance plan,' despite the fact that the plan costs far more than the free market would dictate. The overpricing ensures a steady flow of revenue to be siphoned off to the administrators and government officials. Campaign or 'foundation' coffers are regularly subsidized to ensure favorable treatment by elected officials, and the people pay a huge price for poorer access and diminished quality," maintains Eck.

"Insurance companies claim to provide 'protection' against financial ruin by selling a card that promises access to high-quality care whenever it is needed, but the protection is an illusion, as the purported savings are often fictitious."

Eck gives two real-life examples to illustrate her point:

* "A patient with insurance had four lab tests performed at an outpatient hospital lab with the amount billed at $732. The insurance company brought that amount to $328. The lab deductible (out-of-pocket by the patient) came to $200, and insurance paid $128. Most patients would not question the original sum and would feel secure knowing that their insurer protected them from financial ruin by taking more than half off the original price.

"The hidden truth, though, is that the whole system is a scam perpetrated by insurance companies and hospitals. These very same lab tests, when done for cash at a local lab...