NYC Goes Big Brother on Diabetics

As an overweight man with a family history of diabetes, I am worried to learn that New York City is planning to become the first major U.S. city to track the health of all diabetics.

By pinpointing problem patients, then intervening ever so slightly in their care, Frieden said the city can improve thousands of lives. "I don't think we can afford not to do anything," he said.
The Board of Health vote on the proposal isn't likely until at least September, but it has already attracted attention from other public health experts and privacy advocates...Diabetes is different, threatening no one but the people who have it.
"This isn't smallpox," said James Pyles, an attorney who represents health care groups concerned with medical privacy. "The state, or the city in this case, does not have a compelling interest in the health of an individual that overrides that individual's right to privacy."
Pyles praised the intent of the program, but said unless diabetics are asked for their consent, it would be "an outright violation of the constitutional right to privacy" for the government to obtain their identities.

It is depressing to see NYC taking this step. It is sure to be the first of the "fat diseases" that cities and states will look to monitor, control, and eventually use as an excuse to deny care regarding. Trust me, health care is one of the big up and coming costs of govenrment for the 21st century. And the only ways to control costs for health care are (1) to reduce illness and (2) to reduce or eliminate care.