It came to my attention while watching Neil Cavuto today that beginning in 2014, the Federal Government is going to require the electronic reporting of everyone’s BMI (body mass index) by all health care providers as part of Obamacare.

Sec 4103

(a) COVERAGE OF PERSONALIZED PREVENTION PLAN SERVICES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1861(s)(2) of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(s)(2)) is amended…

(b) PERSONALIZED PREVENTION PLAN SERVICES DEFINED.—Section
1861 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x) is amended
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘Annual Wellness Visit
‘‘(hhh)(1) The term ‘personalized prevention plan services’
means the creation of a plan for an individual—
‘‘(A) that includes a health risk assessment (that meets
the guidelines established by the Secretary under paragraph
(4)(A)) of the individual that is completed prior to or as part
of the same visit with a health professional described in paragraph
(3); and
‘‘(B) that—
‘‘(i) takes into account the results of the health risk
assessment; and
‘‘(ii) may contain the elements described in paragraph
(2).
‘‘(2) Subject to paragraph (4)(H), the elements described in
this paragraph are the following:
‘‘(A) The establishment of, or an update to, the individual’s
medical and family history.
‘‘(B) A list of current providers and suppliers that are
regularly involved in providing medical care to the individual
(including a list of all prescribed medications).
H. R. 3590—436
‘‘(C) A measurement of height, weight, body mass index
(or waist circumference, if appropriate), blood pressure, and
other routine measurements.
‘‘(D) Detection of any cognitive impairment.
‘‘(E) The establishment of, or an update to, the following:
‘‘(i) A screening schedule for the next 5 to 10 years,
as appropriate, based on recommendations of the United
States Preventive Services Task Force and the Advisory
Committee on Immunization Practices, and the individual’s
health status, screening history, and age-appropriate
preventive services covered under this title.
‘‘(ii) A list of risk factors and conditions for which
primary, secondary, or tertiary prevention interventions
are recommended or are underway, including any mental
health conditions or any such risk factors or conditions
that have been identified through an initial preventive
physical examination (as described under subsection
(ww)(1)), and a list of treatment options and their associated
risks and benefits.
‘‘(F) The furnishing of personalized health advice and a
referral, as appropriate, to health education or preventive counseling
services or programs aimed at reducing identified risk
factors and improving self-management, or community-based
lifestyle interventions to reduce health risks and promote selfmanagement
and wellness, including weight loss, physical
activity, smoking cessation, fall prevention, and nutrition.
‘‘(G) Any other element determined appropriate by the
Secretary….
‘‘(4)(A) For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary, not
later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this subsection,
shall establish publicly available guidelines for health risk assessments.
Such guidelines shall be developed in consultation with
relevant groups and entities and shall provide that a health risk
assessment—
‘‘(i) identify chronic diseases, injury risks, modifiable risk
factors, and urgent health needs of the individual; and
‘‘(ii) may be furnished—
‘‘(I) through an interactive telephonic or web-based
program that meets the standards established under
subparagraph (B);
‘‘(II) during an encounter with a health care professional;
‘‘(III) through community-based prevention programs;
or
‘‘(IV) through any other means the Secretary determines
appropriate to maximize accessibility and ease of
use by beneficiaries, while ensuring the privacy of such
beneficiaries.

I am not yet aware of what other health indicators have to be reported, but the BMI is one that could be used against you in seeking employment or a promotion, allowing you to purchase insurance, or even in deciding whether or not to retain you in a position. And given the need to Pay for Obamacare, there could even in the future be a panel that would decide you were not entitled to certain health care procedures, or could even be placed in a different tax bracket. While many of the things in your medical record do not lend themselves to such instant evaluation, BMI most decidedly does.

The information is guaranteed as well to not remain within even the privacy of a governmental office, much less your personal health record. A later provision in the Act provides for “community-based organizations” (such as ACORN- and Chris Dodd has already admitted they would qualify) to be given grants to establish independent “Wellness” counsels to monitor your records, provide health improvement plans, and monitor and report-on how you are complying with their plan.

Subtitle C—Creating Healthier
Communities
SEC. 4201. COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION GRANTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services
(referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’), acting through the
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (referred
to in this section as the ‘‘Director’’), shall award competitive grants
to State and local governmental agencies and community-based
organizations for the implementation, evaluation, and dissemination
of evidence-based community preventive health activities in order
to reduce chronic disease rates, prevent the development of secondary
conditions, address health disparities, and develop a
stronger evidence-base of effective prevention programming.
(b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant under subsection
(a), an entity shall—
(1) be—
(A) a State governmental agency;
(B) a local governmental agency;
(C) a national network of community-based organizations;
(D) a State or local non-profit organization; or
(E) an Indian tribe; and
(2) submit to the Director an application at such time,
in such a manner, and containing such information as the
Director may require, including a description of the program
to be carried out under the grant; and
(3) demonstrate a history or capacity, if funded, to develop
relationships necessary to engage key stakeholders from multiple
sectors within and beyond health care and across a
community, such as healthy futures corps and health care
providers.
(c) USE OF FUNDS.—
H. R. 3590—447
(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity shall use amounts
received under a grant under this section to carry out programs
described in this subsection.
(2) COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION PLAN.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that receives a
grant under this section shall submit to the Director (for
approval) a detailed plan that includes the policy, environmental,
programmatic, and as appropriate infrastructure
changes needed to promote healthy living and reduce
disparities.
(B) ACTIVITIES.—Activities within the plan may focus
on (but not be limited to)—
(i) creating healthier school environments,
including increasing healthy food options, physical
activity opportunities, promotion of healthy lifestyle,
emotional wellness, and prevention curricula, and
activities to prevent chronic diseases;
(ii) creating the infrastructure to support active
living and access to nutritious foods in a safe environment;
(iii) developing and promoting programs targeting
a variety of age levels to increase access to nutrition,
physical activity and smoking cessation, improve social
and emotional wellness, enhance safety in a community,
or address any other chronic disease priority area
identified by the grantee;
(iv) assessing and implementing worksite wellness
programming and incentives;
(v) working to highlight healthy options at restaurants
and other food venues;
(vi) prioritizing strategies to reduce racial and
ethnic disparities, including social, economic, and
geographic determinants of health; and
(vii) addressing special populations needs,
including all age groups and individuals with disabilities,
and individuals in both urban and rural areas.
(3) COMMUNITY-BASED PREVENTION HEALTH ACTIVITIES.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity shall use amounts
received under a grant under this section to implement
a variety of programs, policies, and infrastructure improvements
to promote healthier lifestyles.
(B) ACTIVITIES.—An eligible entity shall implement
activities detailed in the community transformation plan
under paragraph (2).
(C) IN-KIND SUPPORT.—An eligible entity may provide
in-kind resources such as staff, equipment, or office space
in carrying out activities under this section.
(4) EVALUATION.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity shall use amounts
provided under a grant under this section to conduct activities
to measure changes in the prevalence of chronic disease
risk factors among community members participating in
preventive health activities
(B) TYPES OF MEASURES.—In carrying out subparagraph
(A), the eligible entity shall, with respect to residents
in the community, measure—
(i) changes in weight;
H. R. 3590—448
(ii) changes in proper nutrition;
(iii) changes in physical activity;
(iv) changes in tobacco use prevalence;
(v) changes in emotional well-being and overall
mental health;
(vi) other factors using community-specific data
from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey;
and
(vii) other factors as determined by the Secretary.
(C) REPORTING.—An eligible entity shall annually
submit to the Director a report containing an evaluation
of activities carried out under the grant.

I don’t feel the government, much less ACORN has a right to ANY of my health care records, or any part of my health care record, and mandating such reporting is a MAJOR infringement on my personal rights and personal freedom.

Ergo, as a start to my personal protest of this intrusion into my privacy, I will no longer allow any health care provider to weigh me, do a pinch test, float test, or otherwise take any measurement that could be translated to BMI. I will begin this policy immediately, so that when the time comes to report it, they will HAVE to report “Unknown.”

My wife and family members are also going to begin this policy immediately, and I strongly urge everyone else to do the same. Your weight or BMI is not the issue, so it really doesn’t matter whether you are fat or skinny. Your freedom is the issue.

With any luck, Obamacare will be will be repealed before 2014, and we won’t have the issue in play. If not, I for one will fight them every step of the way with every possible way of screwing up their program I can come up with. I can’t speak to your doctor, but mine is fairly conservative, and when I explain why I am doing what I am doing, I’m sure he’ll have no objection to reporting, quite honestly, that he doesn’t know my weight or BMI.