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North Americans have known, or suspected, for some time, that
there has been an organized assault by
a group, against companies, and practitioners, offering
alternatives to the drugs/surgery paradigm. That
group calls itself the "quackbusters,"
and they are a scam.
I'm about to tell you WHY
that assault was formally assembled, HOW THE SCAM works, and WHO the
players are, and WHAT they're up to right now.
If you know who they are,
and how they operate, you can beat them.
North America has been
going towards what are called "alternatives," in health and
medicine, in a big way. More than half of the US health dollar
is currently being spent on this phenomena. With new billing
codes (ABC Codes) going into effect, allowing insurance and Medicare
to pay for "alternative" therapies, that percentage will, no
doubt, increase dramatically.
In California, the fifth
largest stand-alone economy in the world, where I live, the health
freedom movement is much larger than anywhere else. Here,
we'd rather be healthy than medicated. We've analyzed the
politics of the problem, and successfully turned the political
environment to our way of thinking. We simply do not put up with "quackbuster" crap,
here.. Why should we?
And, neither should you...
Throughout this discourse
keep something important in mind. It's this - we in the Health
Freedom Movement outnumber the quackbusters 100,000 to 1.
We've got more money than they do, and we've got better, and more
talented people. We also have better lawyers. It is time
to use our advantage to destroy them.
WHY IT WAS FORMALLY ASSEMBLED...
Three things, I believe, seriously alarmed conventional (mainstream)
medicine and spurred them to action in late 1996.
The FIRST thing was reports showing that medical care in this
country is so bad that doctors and hospitals were listed as the
third largest cause of unnecessary death. Since then, they have
moved to the Number one spot. Americans have been finding out
that the average MD these days, beyond the emergency room, has
little to offer
beyond the "magic bullet," meaning the new drug pushed this
week by the drug company salesman.
The bottom line in conventional
medical care is a shock, and Americans are expressing their displeasure
with the situation
with their changes in health buying patterns - which leads to
the Second thing.
The SECOND thing was a 1993 report in the New England Journal of
Medicine (JAMA) that showed the huge financial impact of
"Alternative Medicine" on the US health care dollar.
The THIRD was the Clinton Administration's identification of
"health fraud" as a major cause of health care's rising costs -
and the announcement of Attorney General Janet Reno's plans to deal
with that issue STRONGLY.
THE EFFECTS ON MAINSTREAM...
STOMACH ACHE #1 - The 1993
JAMA report on Alternative Medicine... had to be a shock to
conventional medicine. It showed that the American public was
not in the "Marcus Welby," or the "Ben Casey" mode any more - where
the guy in the white coat, with the stethoscope around his neck, was
America's sole source of health advice. The "Ask
Your Doctor" program was flat-out dying.
The JAMA
report suggested that more visits were being made to
unconventional practitioners in 1990 then to conventional - 488
million unconventional visits to 388 million to primary care
physicians. 13.7 billion dollars was spent on unconventional
practices as opposed to 12.8 billion for hospitalization.
Alternative Medicine, which excels outside of the Emergency Room
was, offering real health solutions.
STOMACH ACHE #2 - Then, in
1995, Janet Reno, the then Attorney General, under the direction of
the US President, came out
with a program identifying "health fraud" as a major
problem in the US health care system. She shocked, and
frightened, conventional practitioners. "Health Fraud"
- was,
and is, defined by the Justice Department as "Over billing, false
coding, MD kickbacks, etc.." Reno, of course, was right
- conventional medicine was, and is, involved in sheer greed and
dishonesty. It was, and is, a huge problem.
In response, mainstream medical went into orbit, trying to deflect
her attack - to no avail. Janet Reno was teaching "seniors"
how to read their medical bills - and turn their doctor into the
Feds. The "Meds" were in trouble with the "Feds." And,
still are. And, should be...
So mainstream, rather than fix their own house, had to come up with
a plan to counter these two assaults on their dollar intake.
They did... and here it is...
HOW THE SCAM WORKS...
In 1996, mainstream launched their counter-attack. It was a
four part dis-information Public Relations campaign designed to kill
two birds (stomach aches)
with one stone. They wanted Janet Reno (and the American
public) off their backs, and they wanted to get rid of their upstart
competitor Alternative Medicine. So they came up with a simple
plan - re-define the term "health fraud" with a
massive dis-information campaign. The intent was to re-define
the word AWAY from Reno's definition of "Over billing, false
coding, MD kickbacks, etc.." to a different focus -
"Alternative Medicine." They put the plan into effect.
Enter,
from stage right - the "quackbusters..."
PART ONE of the plan was what I call the "definition
switch." Janet Reno, in her original plan, had
expected cooperation from the State Medical Boards. She expected the
Boards to prosecute billing
cheaters. She NEVER got that cooperation.
In Chicago in 1996, at the FSMB (Federation of States Medical
Boards) annual meeting, a major program was presented. It was,
supposedly, on "health fraud," and how to combat it.
Conspicuously, there were no speakers from Janet Reno's team.
If any of Janet Reno's people thought this was going to help the
Federal program - they were wrong.
The Feds that were attending must have been in shock, upon seeing
the presentation. Only once
in the program was the Fed's definition of "health fraud" ever
mentioned - it was by FTC's Matt
Daynard who made it clear that their (the FTC's) concerns were MUCH
broader than theirs. Other than an apparently confused Daynard, no
where in the program was there a discussion of how to prosecute
doctors who over-billed, false coded, took kickbacks, etc. All
they talked about was "Alternative Medicine," and how to
prosecute it - calling it "health fraud."
From that moment on - While Feds prosecuted sleazy hospitals, greedy
MDs, clinics, ambulance operators, home suppliers, etc., State
Medical Boards were to target two categories (a) solo practitioner
MDs that recommended supplements, exercise, etc., instead of
prescription drugs, and (2) unlicensed competitors to the
drug/surgery dollars, i.e.; Naturopaths, Homeopaths,
Nutritionists, Health food Stores, Massage Therapists, etc..
And the war began in earnest. For, even then the Health
Freedom Movement, although not organized, had muscle.
Hundreds of fights across the nation, ensued.
PART TWO of the plan was to affect Federal Agencies - and try to
redirect those agency's efforts away from the Justice Department's
program, and convince them to focus their energies on "Alternative
medicine" proponents. They did this with a four-part
sub-plan. (a) They invited FTC and FDA lower level
employees to their meetings for the express purpose of
propagandizing, and kissing-up to them. (b). They
created a system of "meetings" where they had access to those
Federal employees on a regular basis - for the purpose of
propagandizing them (c) They used their contacts within
those Federal agencies to gain unwarranted credibility for their own
plans, and anti-alternative medicine programs.
(d) They got the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
to give them official government credibility.
PART THREE of the plan, was a propaganda gambit. It was in two parts
(a) create a so-called "information base."
Websites appeared, sounding authoritative, like Stephen Barrett's
sleazy
"quackwatch.com,"
and others. The questionable organization, the National
Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF), was to provide so-called
"expert witnesses" for testimony. The FSMB was to act as a
clearinghouse, both for names of people suggested for prosecution
(persecution), and for where to find "information" and
"expert
witnesses." And more...
DHHS
was duped into giving the quackbusters unwarranted credibility.
Type in the key words "health fraud" on a government website,
and up pops the National Council Against Health Fraud's website, and
quackwatch.com.
The second part (b) , and equally important was to demonize, and
criminalize, all aspects of "alternatives" through false suggestions,
or claims, against them. For instance; The claim that
herbals are "untested" and not "standardized" is simply
a ploy to make herbals look bad. Herbals do not need to be
"tested," nor "standardized." Herbals are
more like wine - since they are a natural product, dependant upon
natural factors like weather, no two batches are going to be the same.
Herbals, being part of nature (part of earth's life cycle) have been
field tested since the beginning of time. The "testing"
process we the people put in place is for new "drugs," not
herbals - those things, unlike herbals, that have NEVER been
introduced into the human body before. Generally speaking, drugs
are HUGELY DANGEROUS - hence the warnings of side effects.
PART FOUR of the plan was to create a relationship with Medicare,
and the health Insurance Industry, to supposedly, advise them
of "health fraud." It incorporated, in a sub-plan parts
One, Two, and Three, above.
WHO THE PLAYERS ARE...
The whole scam is run out
of a New York ad agency...
I believe one of the primary players in this scam is the Board,
management, and staff of the FSMB (Federation of States Medical
Boards). Their website basically
says "We don't know what alternative medicine is - so we'll call
it health fraud." It is they, I believe, who control
the daily operation of the plot. As you read this, at exactly
this moment, some, or all of the FSMB people, are probably on the
phone, the FAX, or the internet, organizing the persecution of some
unsuspecting leading-edge healer in North America. Ten minutes
from now, they will begin another. Then another, then another,
then another...
The National Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF) is another player.
It wants to appear to be an important wheel in health care. The
reality is different. It was rudely EVICTED from Loma Linda
University a few years ago, and after bouncing around from place to
place, has now found a home in a hair removal salon in Massachusetts,
where the NCAHF president, Robert S. Baratz MD, DDS, PhD is the
"Medical Director." Hair removal?
One other player, recently fading from the scene, muscled out by
Bobbie Baratz, is Stephen Barrett MD, who
the Pennsylvania licensing board officially classifies as
"Not in Good Standing,"
operates the dubious website
"quackwatch.com" out
of his basement in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
There are other players, but it would take to long to explain how it
works. Again, I recommend James Carter MD's SUPERB book
"Racketeering In Medicine." as a resource. Page #44 has
an outline of the whole quackbuster
scam.
THE REAL PROBLEM IS...
What is the REAL problem, exactly? Generally, "we" are
the problem. "We" meaning the North American Health
Freedom Movement. Specifically, it's that "we," in the Health Freedom
Movement haven't completely countered the attack plan put into place a
few years ago (1996), by the quackbuster conspirators to destroy
"Alternative Medicine." It's time we did that. - and
we can do it relatively easily.
What we have to remember is that, despite the quackbuster's best
efforts, "Alternative Medicine" is gaining, not losing, ground
in public acceptance. Americans aren't buying into the
quackbuster "big lie" propaganda program.
Since identifying a problem is half-way to solution - we're more than
half done solving this issue.
SO WHAT ABOUT THE QUACKBUSTER'S BIG PLAN?
We know that several years ago, the plan was put together, and
explained at the 1996 meeting of the FSMB, by a group of conspirators,
to use the Medical Boards, the FSMB, the Attorney Generals, certain
employees of the FTC and the FDA, and top quackbusters for the purpose
of stamping out "Alternative Medicine." Although the
whole thing was exposed in magazines like "The Townsend Letter," the
plan was activated. It is on-going now. At that time there
was no super-strong (like there is now) "Health Freedom Movement,"
per se - so there was no national counter-strategy, and no
counter-action.
That was THEN - this is NOW.
Now, of course, we know that when a "top quackbuster" shows up
to testify somewhere, someone is waiting with the equivalent of a
factual ball-bat - and that quackbuster is publicly exposed for the
out-of-a-job loser crackpot they really are. In other words,
we've negated an important component in their attack plan - their
so-called "experts." We did this to Bobbie Baratz in
Wisconsin. Each time he opened his mouth he sank deeper into the
quicksand.
Dismantling their "activated plan" is also really a simple
exercise. We simply use our size, and intelligence, advantage.
"The Plan of 1996," such as it is,
was in five parts, and it had a basic theme - Destroy Alternative
Medicine by "Criminalizing" it. Kind of like depicting
Mother Theresa as "the whore of Calcutta."
Their five part plan goes like this: (1) Set up a
central propaganda center. (2) Control who gets
prosecuted through the FSMB, and medical boards. (3)
Affect Medicare, and Medical Insurance Company payment decisions
(4) Use the system to harass, discourage, and destroy Alt Med
practitioners, and providers. (5) Demoralize the
opposition with the viciousness of the campaign.
"The Plan of 1996" is having a
limited success, not because it's a good plan, but because we don't
do anything about it. Our reaction, to this point, has been to
put protective "Health Freedom Laws" in place - and we are
having only LIMITED success with that. We need to change
strategies slightly.
WHY
IT'S SO EASY TO BEAT THESE PEOPLE...
The quackbusters, I've found, aren't individually, or in groups,
that bright. Read delicensed MD Stephen Barrett's website
"quackwatch.com,"
and his resume, and you'll see what I mean - and he's their
chief propagandist. Everything he says is like he was simply
filling out a form someone, with a higher intelligence, gave him.
His mouthings are boringly the same, each and every time.
Keep in mind that
Barrett, although claiming to be a retired Psychiatrist, was never
able to become "Board Certified." He failed his test.
Also, Barrett gave up his MD license in 1993. I suspect he
just couldn't keep up with new things. His employment record
shows he NEVER was able to hold a full-time job - and his claim to
"Psychiatric fame" was his part-time (4 to 8 hours a week)
employment at a Pennsylvania Mental Hospital - from 1978 through
1993. From 1976 through 1978 he COULD NOT GET a paying job.
Barrett, with his lack of basic intelligence, is getting hammered
when he shows up in a courtroom situation - and tries to inflict his
weird opinions on a Judge. And Barrett has legal problems all
over the country. Basically, I see Barrett as a loser, who
couldn't make it in the medical profession. And, Barrett is
TYPICAL quackbuster leadership.
Bobbie Baratz, the current president of the NCAHF, is laughable.
He's, almost literally, hiding under the bed, avoiding depositions
asking about his so-called "expertise." I believe he's
desperate for the "testifying" money. Baratz, who's former
position at a Boston area medical center, was terminated (and Baratz
doesn't want to talk about it), after a physical altercation with a
72 year old woman, now operates a hair removal business. Some
"expert." He also operates the NCAHF out of that same hair
removal location.
Polevoy, in Canada, is a sissy. He likes to frighten women.
I think he pees his pants when confronted by the male of the
species. I'm eager to hear his version of the story about why
he isn't practicing as a PEDIATRICIAN any more.
I see no reason to be impressed with the visible quackbuster
operation... I'm of the opinion that the original "plan"
was written by someone we haven't met yet.
SO WHY DID THEY HAVE ANY SUCCESS, AT ALL?
Because they organized, and activated, a plan... and we, in
the Health Freedom Movement, didn't react with our own plan.
HOW DOES THEIR PLAN WORK?
(1) SET UP A CENTRAL PROPAGANDA CENTER - They simply set up a
series of websites, and telephone numbers, that all of their
soldiers, government employees, and members of the public, could
refer to for information about "alternative medicine."
They set up a "chat room" to send victims to "for further
information." Unsuspecting readers have no idea that what
they're reading is all lies and misrepresentations.
(2) CONTROL WHO GETS PROSECUTED through the FSMB, and medical
boards. - Whoever designed the original plan, understood
the science of social manipulation. They understood how to use
bureaucrats to their own advantage.
Generally speaking, public employees are not the brightest stars in
the sky - they are bureaucrats. The 1970's book "The Peter
Principle" was written about them. Dr. Laurence J. Peter
was the one who said "In a bureaucracy, everyone rises to their
level of incompetence." How true.
Employees of agencies regulating health care in the United States
are no exception. The only thing you can count on when dealing
with them is (a) they are definitely bureaucrats, (b) when it comes
to knowledge of the subject they are supposed to regulate - never
expect them to know anything about what they are regulating, (c)
expect pettiness, brutality, and stupidity in their completion of
their assignments. If you keep these things in mind (and don't
be shocked by the reality) - you can deal with them - and get things
done.
Yes, it's not right - but it is the way things are.
The quackbusters have been operating in the "public employee"
arena for a very long time. So, they know how to manipulate
the arena to their own advantage. Even though we, in the
Health Freedom Movement, outnumber them 100,000 to 1, they can still
control who gets attacked (prosecuted), because they've managed to
infiltrate, and poison the minds of health agency bureaucrats
against "Alternative Medicine." One of the best
examples we've recently found is the "Training Manual for
Alternative Medicine Prosecutions," handed out to the gun-toting
investigators of the Medical Board of California (MBC).
Investigators of the Medical Board of California (MBC), are only
required to have a high school education, are not required to have
any medical training, and need only a six-week course at a community
college before they're handed their fifteen-shot Berretta nine
millimeter automatic, and their "Training Manual for Alternative
Medicine Prosecutions."
See how it works?
(3) AFFECT MEDICARE, AND MEDICAL INSURANCE COMPANY
DECISIONS...
Unfortunately, a large slice of the American population relies on
Medicare and Medical Insurance for their health care needs.
Those that use this combination solely - remain unhealthy, and then
die. For, as we know, Medicare, and Medical Insurance,
offerings have to have undergone an "approval process" before
they can be paid for. Which translates to the unfortunate fact
that if you're relying on what Medicare will pay for - you're
relying on practices and procedures that are at least FIFTEEN YEARS
OUT OF DATE. And, in the case of Medical Insurance - probably
TEN YEARS OUT OF DATE.
New things simply aren't paid for in the Medicare and Medical
Insurance world.
The
"quackbusters"
formed an organization called CHIRI (Consumer Health Information
Research Institute) for the express purpose of, as James Carter
says:
"The
CHIRI has for its constituency the health insurance industry.
It purports to serve that industry in an advisory capacity, by
approving or disapproving a particular treatment provided by a
health-care provider. It plans to serve as a health-insurance
consultant regarding the legitimacy of certain disabilities and
health practitioners. An example of an "illegal" disability
would be chronic fatigue syndrome. CHIRI is also said to have
a computerized list of more than 40,000 American physicians and
other medical practitioners who are suspected of using "questionable
medical practices."
(4) USE THE SYSTEM
TO HARASS, DISCOURAGE, AND DESTROY LEADING-EDGE PRACTITIONERS AND
PROVIDERS...
Taking plan sections One,
Two, and Three above into consideration, you can see what effect the
combination has on leading-edge health care. The "system"
is
designed to protect the status quo.
(5) DEMORALIZE THE OPPOSITION BY THE VICIOUSNESS OF THE
CAMPAIGN.
This section is self-explanatory. One of the tactics used is
to attack health providers who have little, or no, financial
resources as brutally as possible, as publicly as possible, so that
other providers see what happens when they tell the drug salesmen to
go away.
And, so on...
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