By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    improving patient experience
    6 Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction Within Hospitals
    December 1, 2021
    degree for healthcare job
    What Are The Health Benefits Of Having A Degree?
    March 9, 2022
    custom software development is changing healthcare
    Digital Customer Journey Mapping and its Importance for Healthcare
    July 21, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Can Thinking Younger Make You Live Longer?
    April 20, 2011
    Image
    Obesity’s Outlook Unchanged
    June 13, 2011
    When It’s An Emergency Elderly Not Treated As Well in Hospitals
    July 16, 2011
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: The “Deep State” in American Health Care
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Health Reform > The “Deep State” in American Health Care
Health ReformPolicy & LawPublic Health

The “Deep State” in American Health Care

John Graham
Last updated: November 12, 2013 9:11 am
John Graham
Share
4 Min Read
American health care
SHARE

American health careIn a recent blog entry, The Wall Street Journal‘s Peggy Noonan suggested the existence of a “deep state” within the national-security apparatus of the U.S. government.

American health careIn a recent blog entry, The Wall Street Journal‘s Peggy Noonan suggested the existence of a “deep state” within the national-security apparatus of the U.S. government.

Usually, the “deep state” refers to a function of the Turkish Army, which was re-organized by Kemal Ataturk after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the First World War and endowed with the implicit authority to overthrow the civilian government if the generals thought it necessary to preserve the nation-state.

Ms. Noonan did not go so far as to assert that the CIA, FBI, or Pentagon threatens to overthrow our government. Rather, she meant that the national-security bureaucracies are so deeply embedded in the American state that it is not possible for the political branches to control them. They do their own thing.

More Read

ebola fear
Ebola: America Driven by Fear
Demographics of CDHP Enrollees
Is It Right To Opt For A Home Care Service For Elderly Loved Ones?
Action Item: We Need Open Access to Scholarly Research Now – A Petition to Sign
Do We Have It All Wrong About Obesity?

Fair enough. But I’d like to nominate another branch of the national bureaucracy as the “deep state”: The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and its related agencies.

Although we are currently witnessing a spectacle of Congressional oversight of the inept rollout of the ObamaCare health-insurance exchange websites, this is done for the TV cameras. ObamaCare, a two-thousand page long, impossible to understand “law”, is lurching along under its own momentum.

Indeed, important parts of the program barely conform to the law as written. In July, the Treasury Department simply announced that it would delay the “employer mandate”, a fine (or tax, if you prefer) on employers which do not offer ObamaCare-compliant health benefits, until 2015. This, despite the fact that the law unambiguously states that the mandate comes into effect in 2014. On the other hand, the bureaucracy has refused to grant administrative relief to individuals, who must pay a similar fine (or tax) if they don’t purchase ObamaCare-compliant plans next year.

The healthcare bureaucracy’s status as a “deep state” is an important factor explaining why ObamaCare is unfathomable. Politicians have little control over this deep state, so they simply grant it more and more power. Philip Klein of the American Spectator went through the law and counted over 700 stipulations which contained the term “the Secretary shall“, over 200 cases of “the Secretary may“, and 139 cases of “the Secretary determines.”

Of course, it is now clear that Secretary Sebelius did not make any serious determinations. Rather, they have been made by many unidentified career agents of healthcare’s deep state, who spend their days responding to lobbyists’ “concerns” about this rule or that regulation, while drafting thousands of pages of impenetrable regulatory guidance.

James Madison warned us that “It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood.”

Half a century of federal intrusion into health care has resulted in exactly that ― and a “deep state” that will be exceedingly difficult to overthrow, despite the clumsy launch of ObamaCare’s website.

(American Health Care / shutterstock)
TAGGED:obamacare
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Health
May 15, 2025
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction heart treatment
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction
Cardiology
May 13, 2025

You Might also Like

Deval Patrick’s Wisdom (and lack thereof) on Health Reform

November 29, 2012
Health careHealth ReformNewsPolicy & LawPublic Health

Will Killing the Individual Mandate Derail Healthcare Reform?

December 29, 2017
Health care

Does Insurance Cover the Cost of Therapy?

June 14, 2022

A Theory on Why The FDA Hid Conflicts of Interest

January 15, 2012
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?