Seminar on Health Care Reform and Individual Rights

Oct 6, 2010 | Health Care Reform, Speaking Events

On October 4 I chaired a seminar, for first-year medical students at Duke University, on Health Care Reform and Individual Rights. My contention is that any meaningful, proper proposal for health-care reform must recognize and defend the rights of doctors to practice medicine as they deem fit, in voluntary, contractual agreement with their employers and patients. Students (and the public) rarely hear this point of view–it was almost entirely missing from the debates over the passage of Obamacare. It should not be surprising that such a defense is entirely missing from the bill, and that the bill massively undermines such rights.

For a sample of the ideas at the forefront of this seminar, see a lecture I gave in 2009 to Duke medical students:

Buy a “Nothing Less than Victory” t-shirt!!!!

Oct 4, 2010 | Health Care Reform

For sale now, professionally embroidered (stitched, not pressed-on)
t-shirts emblazoned with the slogan “Nothing Less than Victory”.


John, released from the hospital, Dec. 30, 2009

On patrol at Duke Medical Center, achieving a medical victory!

These shirts are professionally embroidered (they arenot “iron-ons”). They come in dark blue, with white and yellow letters, and in sizes S, M, L, and XL. Note: they are short-sleeved only (long-sleeved in photos not available).
Price: $40.00 each (includes shipping)
Specify size: S, M, L or XL.
Shipping: USPS (please provide a shipping address)

To order, send an email to johndavidlewis@ymail.com

Please allow 6 to 8 weeks for delivery.

New Video: Redeeming Health Care Reform, May 10, 2010

Jun 1, 2010 | Health Care Reform, Speaking Events

On May 10, 2010 Americans for Free Choice in Medicine sponsored an event at the National Press Club in Washington, DC: Redeeming Reform: What Health Care Reform Could and Ought to Be.

This video was my contribution to this important event. It is my first public speech since last fall.

My voice may be weak, but the idea is strong: a proper, and moral, health care policy–and proper reform–must begin with the moral conviction that each person’s life belongs to him, not to the state. Each person is individually endowed with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The purpose of government is to secure these rights, not to blast them aside in order to forcibly redistribute the wealth, efforts and lives of the citizens of this nation.

My thanks to Richard Ralston of AFCM for arranging this event, and to the many other participants who have dedicated their efforts to proper health care reform.

WHAT THE ‘‘AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE FOR AMERICA ACT,” HR 3962, ACTUALLY SAYS

Dec 11, 2009 | Health Care Reform

WHAT THE ‘‘AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE FOR AMERICA ACT,” HR 3962, ACTUALLY SAYS

What does the bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, HR3962, short-titled the ‘‘Affordable Health Care for America Act,” actually say about major health-care issues? I here pose a few commonsense questions, cite some relevant passages, and offer a few brief comments.

See the article in The Objective Standard

(The bill is available here.)

This bill is 1,990 pages of mind-numbing legalese. It will reach deeply into federal and state regulations and laws, on a scale that will require years for experts to interpret. It will establish institutions that will be effectively irreversible. It will grant arbitrary powers to bureaucrats, who will have to interpret and enforce its dictates. A full analysis of its impact would require a commentary at least as long as the bill itself. American citizens cannot be expected to read and understand such legislation. But they should be aware that this is the nature of the laws being written by their (alleged) representatives in Washington.