Third-party payment in the United States: Difference between revisions

(2 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)

Line 52:

</blockquote>

Third-party payment for injurious medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic child [[circumcision]] in the [[United States]] keeps the incidence of non-therapeutic circumcision of children far higher than any other industrial nation.

Third-party payment for injurious medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic child [[circumcision]] in the [[United States]] keeps the incidence of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of children far higher than any other industrial nation.

Cessation of third-party payment is likely to reduce the incidence of harmful [[circumcision]] in the [[United States]]. Hill (2021) estimated that the overall incidence of circumcision in Mississppi, where Medicaid has not provided third-party payment for non-therapeutic circumcision since 1998, is only about 20 percent.<ref>{{REFweb

Line 73:

}}</ref> The only party to benefit from such third-party payments is the receiving physician and/or hospital.

The physicians that most commonly perform non-therapeutic infant circumcisions are obstetricians, pediatricians, and family doctors. They formed an agreement in 2007 to produce a new statement with the [[AAP]] as the lead. The intent of the statement was to spur the demand for [[circumcision]] to aid the [[circumcision industry]]. It was published in 2012 but received overwheming, unrelenting criticism from many critics because of its evident omissions of facts. The 2012 AAP statement was an acute embarrassment to the AAP so it was not re-affirmed and allowed to expire in accordance with long-standing AAP policy, so it expired on August 31, 2017. The AAP has not replaced the failed 2012 policy statement so it now has ''no'' official policy regarding male circumcision and does ''not'' recommend circumcision.

The physicians that most commonly perform non-therapeutic infant circumcisions are obstetricians, pediatricians, and family doctors. They formed an agreement in 2007 to produce a new statement, with the [[AAP]] as the lead. The intent of the statement was to spur the demand for [[circumcision]] to aid the [[circumcision industry]]. It was published in 2012 but received overwheming, unrelenting criticism from many critics because of its evident omissions of facts. The 2012 AAP statement was an acute embarrassment to the AAP, so it was not re-affirmed and allowed to expire in accordance with long-standing AAP policy, so it expired on August 31, 2017. The [[AAP]] has not replaced the failed 2012 policy statement, so it now has ''no'' official policy regarding male circumcision and does ''not'' recommend circumcision.

==The certain harm of circumcision==

[[Circumcision]] is a cutting operation to amputate a functional part of the [[penis]]. Newborn boys cannot receive general anesthesia, so every circumcision of ~~newbory~~ boys causes great [[pain]]. Analgesia is offered to sell circumcision by making parents feel better, but does little for the infant boy. There is also extreme physical and psychic [[trauma]] caused by the loss of a body part. The [[foreskin]] normally has [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions| protective, immunological, sensory, and sexual functions]], which are destroyed with the [[amputation]].

[[Circumcision]] is a cutting operation to amputate a functional part of the [[penis]]. Newborn boys cannot receive general anesthesia, so every circumcision of newborn boys causes great [[pain]]. Analgesia is offered to sell [[circumcision]] by making parents feel better, but does little for the infant boy. There is also extreme physical and psychic [[trauma]] caused by the loss of a body part. The [[foreskin]] normally has [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions| protective, immunological, sensory, and sexual functions]], which are destroyed with the [[amputation]]. [[Infection]] is more likely because of the open wound on the [[penis]] and lack of protection by the absent [[foreskin]].

All circumcisions excise the [[ridged band]], which is the source of much [[Sexual sensation of the foreskin| sexual sensation]], resulting in a permanent life-time loss of sensation.

The loss of the immunological and protective functions makes penile health issues more likely. In comparison, due to the open wounds and raw [[bleeding]] flesh in a diaper, the [[circumcised]] [[penis]] needs much more care after [[circumcision]]. The surgically externalized [[glans]] is dirty rather then clean because of constant exposure to dirt, abrasion, pathogens, and contaminants.<ref name="vanhowe2003">{{REFjournal

The loss of the immunological and protective functions of the foreskin makes penile health issues more likely. In comparison, due to the open wounds and raw [[bleeding]] flesh in a diaper, the [[circumcised]] [[penis]] needs much more care after [[circumcision]]. The surgically externalized [[glans]] is dirty rather then clean because of constant exposure to dirt, abrasion, pathogens, and contaminants.<ref name="vanhowe2003">{{REFjournal

|last=Van Howe

|init=RS

Line 111:

}}</ref>

The excision of skin by circumcision makes painful erections more likely. [[Circumcised]] males may experience tight and/or painful erections when there is insufficient residual shaft [[skin]] to permit full expansion and extension of the shaft of the [[penis]] during [[erection]].

The excision of skin by [[circumcision]] makes painful erections more likely. [[Circumcised]] males may experience tight and/or painful erections when there is insufficient residual shaft [[skin]] to permit full expansion and extension of the shaft of the [[penis]] during [[erection]].

Maguire & Parkes (1998) stress the need to grieve loss of body parts and functions,<ref>{{REFjournal

Line 142:

==U.S. Government policy on circumcision==

The government policy regarding male [[circumcision]] seems to have been formulated by the military services at the time of World War I. It appears to have been based on the 1914 article of [[Abraham L. Wolbarst]], M.D., an ardent Jewish promoter of [[Brit Milah| ritual circumcision]], who published an opinion-based paper in 1914 in the ''Journal of the American Medical Association'' to defend ritual cirumcision that falsely claimed health benefits of circumcision.<ref name="wolbarst1914">{{REFjournal

The government policy regarding male [[circumcision]] seems to have been formulated by the military services at the time of World War I. It appears to have been based on the 1914 article of [[Abraham L. Wolbarst]], M.D., an ardent Jewish promoter and defender of [[Brit Milah| ritual circumcision]], who published an opinion-based paper in 1914 in the ''Journal of the American Medical Association'' to defend ritual cirumcision that falsely claimed health benefits of circumcision.<ref name="wolbarst1914">{{REFjournal

|last=Wolbarst

|first=Abraham L.

Line 187:

|accessdate=2025-01-19

}}</ref>

The unspoken and unwritten official U.S. Government policy seems to be that it is clear every male needs a [[circumcision]], so support for free circumcision is provided without any questions being asked. This had been the policy of the military services since about 1917 when the [[United States]] intervened in the World War. When the Congress created the Medicare and Medicaid programs in 1965, the existing ''every male needs a circumcision'' policy was adopted. About 45 percent of births in the [[United States]] are covered by Medicaid and in most states free coverage of infant circumcision is provided.<ref name="craigG2005">{{REFjournal

The unspoken and unwritten official U.S. Government policy seems to be that it is clear every male needs a [[circumcision]], so support for free [[circumcision]] is provided without any questions being asked. This had been the policy of the military services since about 1917 when the [[United States]] intervened in the World War. When the Congress created the Medicare and Medicaid programs in 1965, the existing ''every male needs a circumcision'' policy was adopted. About 45 percent of births in the [[United States]] are covered by Medicaid and in most states free coverage of infant circumcision is provided.<ref name="craigG2005">{{REFjournal

|last=Craig

|init=A

Line 222:

}}</ref>

The advent of [[HIV]] provided an additional excuse to provide free circumcision.

The advent of [[HIV]] provided an additional excuse to provide free circumcision, although the incidence of HIV infection is higher in [[circumcised]] men.

===Cost of complications===

Moreover, the [[foreskin]] has [[Immunological_and_protective_function_of_the_foreskin| immunological and protective functions]] that are ablated by circumcision, therefore [[foreskinned]] males enjoy better health.<ref>{{GairdnerDM 1949}}</ref> <ref name="vanhowe2006" /> <ref name="fendereski2024">{{REFjournal

Line 299:

* [https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare The Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program] (For federal employees and their dependents.)

* [https://www.state.gov/pepfar/ President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief] ([[PEPFAR]]) (For every male who lives in Africa.)

==Fraud, waste, and abuse==

Third-party payment for non-therapeutic [[circumcision]], by various U.S. government entities, enriches medical doctors, but causes [[pain]], [[trauma]], and irreversible injury to patients. It is a glaring example of the <b>fraud, waste, and abuse</b> that is so endemic throughout the federal bureaucracy.

@@ Line 52: / Line 52: @@
 </blockquote>
-Third-party payment for injurious medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic child [[circumcision]] in the [[United States]] keeps the incidence of non-therapeutic circumcision of children far higher than any other industrial nation.
+Third-party payment for injurious medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic child [[circumcision]] in the [[United States]] keeps the incidence of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of children far higher than any other industrial nation.
 Cessation of third-party payment is likely to reduce the incidence of harmful [[circumcision]] in the [[United States]]. Hill (2021) estimated that the overall incidence of circumcision in Mississppi, where Medicaid has not provided third-party payment for non-therapeutic circumcision since 1998, is only about 20 percent.<ref>{{REFweb
@@ Line 73: / Line 73: @@
 }}</ref> The only party to benefit from such third-party payments is the receiving physician and/or hospital.
-The physicians that most commonly perform non-therapeutic infant circumcisions are obstetricians, pediatricians, and family doctors.  They formed an agreement in 2007 to produce a new statement with the [[AAP]] as the lead. The intent of the statement was to spur the demand for [[circumcision]] to aid the [[circumcision industry]]. It was published in 2012 but received overwheming, unrelenting criticism from many critics because of its evident omissions of facts. The 2012 AAP statement was an acute embarrassment to the AAP so it was not re-affirmed and allowed to expire in accordance with long-standing AAP policy, so it expired on August 31, 2017. The AAP has not replaced the failed 2012 policy statement so it now has ''no'' official policy regarding male circumcision and does ''not'' recommend circumcision.
+The physicians that most commonly perform non-therapeutic infant circumcisions are obstetricians, pediatricians, and family doctors.  They formed an agreement in 2007 to produce a new statement, with the [[AAP]] as the lead. The intent of the statement was to spur the demand for [[circumcision]] to aid the [[circumcision industry]]. It was published in 2012 but received overwheming, unrelenting criticism from many critics because of its evident omissions of facts. The 2012 AAP statement was an acute embarrassment to the AAP, so it was not re-affirmed and allowed to expire in accordance with long-standing AAP policy, so it expired on August 31, 2017. The [[AAP]] has not replaced the failed 2012 policy statement, so it now has ''no'' official policy regarding male circumcision and does ''not'' recommend circumcision.
 ==The certain harm of circumcision==
-[[Circumcision]] is a cutting operation to amputate a functional part of the [[penis]]. Newborn boys cannot receive general anesthesia, so every circumcision of newbory boys causes great [[pain]]. Analgesia is offered to sell circumcision by making parents feel better, but does little for the infant boy. There is also extreme physical and psychic [[trauma]] caused by the loss of a body part. The [[foreskin]] normally has [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions| protective, immunological, sensory, and sexual functions]], which are destroyed with the [[amputation]].
+[[Circumcision]] is a cutting operation to amputate a functional part of the [[penis]]. Newborn boys cannot receive general anesthesia, so every circumcision of newborn boys causes great [[pain]]. Analgesia is offered to sell [[circumcision]] by making parents feel better, but does little for the infant boy. There is also extreme physical and psychic [[trauma]] caused by the loss of a body part. The [[foreskin]] normally has [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions| protective, immunological, sensory, and sexual functions]], which are destroyed with the [[amputation]]. [[Infection]] is more likely because of the open wound on the [[penis]] and lack of protection by the absent [[foreskin]].
 All circumcisions excise the [[ridged band]], which is the source of much [[Sexual sensation of the foreskin| sexual sensation]], resulting in a permanent life-time loss of sensation.
-The loss of the immunological and protective functions makes penile health issues more likely. In comparison, due to the open wounds and raw [[bleeding]] flesh in a diaper, the [[circumcised]] [[penis]] needs much more care after [[circumcision]]. The surgically externalized [[glans]] is dirty rather then clean because of constant exposure to dirt, abrasion, pathogens, and contaminants.<ref name="vanhowe2003">{{REFjournal
+The loss of the immunological and protective functions of the foreskin makes penile health issues more likely. In comparison, due to the open wounds and raw [[bleeding]] flesh in a diaper, the [[circumcised]] [[penis]] needs much more care after [[circumcision]]. The surgically externalized [[glans]] is dirty rather then clean because of constant exposure to dirt, abrasion, pathogens, and contaminants.<ref name="vanhowe2003">{{REFjournal
   |last=Van Howe
   |init=RS
@@ Line 111: / Line 111: @@
 }}</ref>
-The excision of skin by circumcision makes painful erections more likely. [[Circumcised]] males may experience tight and/or painful erections when there is insufficient residual shaft [[skin]] to permit full expansion and extension of the shaft of the [[penis]] during [[erection]].
+The excision of skin by [[circumcision]] makes painful erections more likely. [[Circumcised]] males may experience tight and/or painful erections when there is insufficient residual shaft [[skin]] to permit full expansion and extension of the shaft of the [[penis]] during [[erection]].
 Maguire & Parkes (1998) stress the need to grieve loss of body parts and functions,<ref>{{REFjournal
@@ Line 142: / Line 142: @@
 ==U.S. Government policy on circumcision==
-The government policy regarding male [[circumcision]] seems to have been formulated by the military services at the time of World War I. It appears to have been based on the 1914 article of [[Abraham L. Wolbarst]], M.D., an ardent Jewish promoter of [[Brit Milah| ritual circumcision]], who published an opinion-based paper in 1914 in the ''Journal of the American Medical Association'' to defend ritual cirumcision that falsely claimed health benefits of circumcision.<ref name="wolbarst1914">{{REFjournal
+The government policy regarding male [[circumcision]] seems to have been formulated by the military services at the time of World War I. It appears to have been based on the 1914 article of [[Abraham L. Wolbarst]], M.D., an ardent Jewish promoter and defender of [[Brit Milah| ritual circumcision]], who published an opinion-based paper in 1914 in the ''Journal of the American Medical Association'' to defend ritual cirumcision that falsely claimed health benefits of circumcision.<ref name="wolbarst1914">{{REFjournal
   |last=Wolbarst
   |first=Abraham L.
@@ Line 187: / Line 187: @@
   |accessdate=2025-01-19
 }}</ref>
-The unspoken and unwritten official U.S. Government policy seems to be that it is clear every male needs a [[circumcision]], so support for free circumcision is provided without any questions being asked. This had been the policy of the military services since about 1917 when the [[United States]] intervened in the World War. When the Congress created the Medicare and Medicaid programs in 1965, the existing ''every male needs a circumcision'' policy was adopted. About 45 percent of births in the [[United States]] are covered by Medicaid and in most states free coverage of infant circumcision is provided.<ref name="craigG2005">{{REFjournal
+The unspoken and unwritten official U.S. Government policy seems to be that it is clear every male needs a [[circumcision]], so support for free [[circumcision]] is provided without any questions being asked. This had been the policy of the military services since about 1917 when the [[United States]] intervened in the World War. When the Congress created the Medicare and Medicaid programs in 1965, the existing ''every male needs a circumcision'' policy was adopted. About 45 percent of births in the [[United States]] are covered by Medicaid and in most states free coverage of infant circumcision is provided.<ref name="craigG2005">{{REFjournal
   |last=Craig
   |init=A
@@ Line 222: / Line 222: @@
 }}</ref>
-The advent of [[HIV]] provided an additional excuse to provide free circumcision.
+The advent of [[HIV]] provided an additional excuse to provide free circumcision, although the incidence of HIV infection is higher in [[circumcised]] men.
 ===Cost of complications===
 Moreover, the [[foreskin]] has [[Immunological_and_protective_function_of_the_foreskin| immunological and protective functions]] that are ablated by circumcision, therefore [[foreskinned]] males enjoy better health.<ref>{{GairdnerDM 1949}}</ref> <ref name="vanhowe2006" /> <ref name="fendereski2024">{{REFjournal
@@ Line 299: / Line 299: @@
 * [https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare The Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program] (For federal employees and their dependents.)
 * [https://www.state.gov/pepfar/ President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief] ([[PEPFAR]]) (For every male who lives in Africa.)
 ==Fraud, waste, and abuse==
 Third-party payment for non-therapeutic [[circumcision]], by various U.S. government entities, enriches medical doctors, but causes [[pain]], [[trauma]], and irreversible injury to patients. It is a glaring example of the <b>fraud, waste, and abuse</b> that is so endemic throughout the federal bureaucracy.