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If Your Doctor Asks You About Guns, Do You Have to Answer?


Stuart Varney said this morning on "Varney & Co." that one of his producers was given a questionnaire with some surprisingly intrusive questions on it when he switched doctors. One of the questions was whether he/she was concerned about unsecured weapons in the home. Another asked whether he/she was "in a relationship in which you have been physically hurt or are you afraid of your partner?"

Judge Andrew Napolitano explained that the question about guns comes out of a post-Sandy Hook executive order by President Obama, but it will be required under Obamacare. Varney expressed amazement that these questions are being asked, but Napolitano made an important observation.

"Most people will think they have to answer. They don't need to answer under the law," he explained.

Napolitano said it's "exceptionally troublesome" that the questions are being asked, but noted that Congress approved of the gun question when it passed Obamacare. He said the question about a person's relationship at home is "totally a creation" of Health and Human Services under Obama.

"For the government to compel that question, that's the problem. Without authority under the Constitution, or from the Congress, or from federal law or from any source, puts the government in the middle of the patient-physician relationship. That is a sacred relationship. One where there has to be free communication of ideas, not information that's gonna go to the government," said Napolitano, who noted that patients should be informed by the doctor that they are not required by law to answer the questions.

In conclusion, Varney and Napolitano agreed that this is another example of George Orwell's "1984" coming true.

Film at 11......

I guess we should consider ourselves lucky....

Nothing new here. Asked all the time. Not an appropriate question about guns.
Don't want to say? Then doen't answer or deny ownership.

Hospitals have been asking about fear in home from someone else for years. Doctors have asked te same question, but far less frequently. Not across the board; not common. Somewhere in between.

Not to sound inappropriately non-paranoid...

But what the hell would make you think this has anything to do with Obamacare?

My understanding (and someone with more information than the usual rabble here can feel free to correct me) is that Obamacare doesn't directly deal with the individual doctors. It's essentially altering the insurance/payment etc. And yes.. this can ultimately affect many things but to suddenly insert random questions about abuse and guns in the household???

Additionally, I would think that Obamacare, a federal policy with ultimately affects healthcare providers across the entire nation, roughly equally, would cause sweeping changes, not localized ones that a friend of a friend of a producer ran across somewhere.

Seems like people are being paranoid and stupid. Actually... no. I take that back. This isn't paranoia, if someone is actually collecting the information. It's just stupidity to blame it on whatever policy you think is evil at the moment.

I've never been asked. What kinda doctor do you go to?! Do they read you your rights?

I am in the process of reading the "Affordable Care Act", and there's a section that deals with this. I found it odd, and instantly figured that Republicans added it in there.

"(c) PROTECTION OF SECOND AMENDMENT GUN RIGHTS

"(1) WELLNESS AND PREVENTION PROGRAMS.---
A wellness and health promotion activity implemented under subsection (a)(1)(D) may not require the disclosure or collection of any information relating to --"(A) the presence or storage of a lawfully-possessed firearm or ammunition in the residence or on the property of an individual; or "(B) the lawful use, possession, or storage of a firearm or ammunition by an individual.

There's a bunch more of the same type of stuff, relating to data collection and prohibiting the denial of coverage to a person who owns/stores a gun.



So....Obama will now just issue Executive Orders on individual sections of the ACA?

For the shorter-bussed crowd among us:

This has been going on BEFORE obamacare.
The only thing obama has done (which I don't necessarily agree with) was to clarify that the Affordable Care act doesn't prohibit Dr's from continuing this practice (which was already occurring)

http://www.snopes.com/politics/guns/medicare.asp

Legislation for the future, not just about healthcare.

Be afraid, be very afraid of the questions you are asked.
Think of it his way - if it was a police officer questioning you without a warrant or probable cause - how would you answer?
There is no more doctor/patient confidentiality. They can intrude pretty far on a person's life under the "it's about prevention" clause.

your guns were realted to your injury and you asked not him.... it sounds now like the questions will be asked to everyone during registration..... I wonder if you'll get put on a list if you refuse to answer... ??

damn....

As much as I hate to do it, I have to agree with Victor of this one. I remember folks on the gun boards complaining about this happening to them as far back as 2000.

Who says it's written into law now?
If it were written into law, everyone would get a special "obamacare" form to fill out stating how many guns they have etc etc... It's happening randomly right now, for some unknown reason (which I would be the first to question why). If it weren't random, they wouldn't need to have gotten a "friend of the producer"

I’m pretty sure this isn’t fallout from Sandy Hook or Obama care hysteria.

I was asked this last time I took my daughter to the pediatrician for her check-up few months ago.

It was one of a series of questions about health and home safety: do they drink a lot of soda, how often do they brush their teeth, do they eat their vegetables, do you have any pets, have you observed any allergies or unexplained rashes, how much sleep do they get…. stuff like that.

None of which made me think he was collecting personal information on me and my family so he could report me to the local gestapo; just general questions that he could use to maybe provide better health care or child safety tips.

If I answered that I owned guns (which I don’t at the present time), he probably would have asked if I kept them locked and safely stored away. If I answered that she drank 2 liters of soda a day, he probably would have advised me that it’s not the best thing for the kid. Let’s face it some people are stupid enough to not know these things and lack common sense.

I don’t want government to regulate these things but some public service advice from your doctor isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

I've been asked these questions several times over the years. And if you or a family member go to an ER with an injury of any type expect to be seperated and asked similar questions.



MEH

I don't see the need either but have been asked the question many times over the last decade or so.

probably so. the irish and the germans are aggressive sorts

the irish? yes. the germans? nah it's just because they live close to france.

"THE"

If you're on the cone list, you already know it. If you aren't on the cone list, you're not gonna be on the cone list. There's no more room at the Inn.

I read where some computer wonks have started generating what they call Bitcones. They claim these virtual cones are universally recognized, beyond the control of any central government, and completely anonymous.