On the recordMay 12, 2010
To be perfectly frank with you, I think many of us are alarmed by this nominee's focus on the British system, where government makes decisions for people on their care. In fact, I am reminded of a decision by the Department of Health and Human Services that I personally had a good deal of concern about last summer to limit the dissemination of information by companies who were in the Medicare Advantage business so that they could not communicate with their customers--clients--their opinions about legislation that would affect their product. It was a stunning government gag order in effect saying to a corporation: You are not free to discuss a public issue before the Senate and the House; we are going to tell you what you can say. It was one of the most blatant examples of the government basically squashing free speech as a condition for doing business with the government.
