There's a hoax going around that the health care reform act HR3200 (The Affordable Care Act, aka "Obamacare") requires everyone to get a chip implanted in their body.
The bottom line is:
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1681045-overview
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-111hr3200ih/pdf/BILLS-111hr3200ih.pdf
And here's what it says:
They then build upon this by claiming that a Class II device is a
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_device#United_States
Implantable RFID chips would be covered under the law, but that's simply because they are one of thousands of devices that are classified as Type III or Type II implantable.
It's not a law, and even if it was, it no more mandates you get a chip implanted than it mandates you get a hip replacement.
This has also been quite well debunked over on Snopes:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/microchip.asp
The bottom line is:
- The proposed law did not require anyone to get anything implanted
- It just created a national registry of a huge of range of medical devices from pacemakers to dental implants
- The intent of the registry was to collect statistics on how safe and effective the devices are
- HR3200 is not the bill that became law. Nor is HR 3962, which only passed the House. The "Obamacare" law is HR 3590, passed as Public Law 111-148, which does not have the registry.
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1681045-overview
- percutaneous catheters
- vascular graft prostheses
- bone-conduction hearing aids
- tympanostomy tubes
- gastrointestinal tubes
- implantable staples
- long-term intravascular catheters
- intracranial pressure monitor devices
- peripheral nerve stimulators for pain relief
- eye sphere implants
- intramedullary fixation rods
- joint prostheses
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-111hr3200ih/pdf/BILLS-111hr3200ih.pdf
And here's what it says:
There's a little more about administrative things, but the above is the entirety of what the conspiracy promoters base their theory on. They get away with it in part because the language of the bill is rather complex and difficult to read, so they can basically make up whatever interpretation they like, and many of their readers will be fooled.External Quote:
SEC. 2521. NATIONAL MEDICAL DEVICE REGISTRY.
[...]
''(g)(1) The Secretary shall establish a national medical device registry (in this subsection referred to as the 'registry') to facilitate analysis of postmarket safety and outcomes data on each device that—
''(A) is or has been used in or on a patient; and
''(B) is—
''(i) a class III device; or
''(ii) a class II device that is implantable, life-supporting, or life-sustaining
They then build upon this by claiming that a Class II device is a
When actually the three classes of medical devices have nothing to do with what the devices are, but are to do with how much they are regulated to ensure safety. For example:External Quote:"implantable radiofrequency transponder system for patient identification and health information."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_device#United_States
So the law simply creates a registry for this HUGE range of different medical devices.External Quote:
Examples of Class III devices include implantable pacemaker, pulse generators, HIV diagnostic tests, automated external defibrillators, and endosseous implants.
Examples of Class II devices include powered wheelchairs, infusion pumps, and surgical drapes.
Examples of Class I devices include elastic bandages, examination gloves, and hand-held surgical instruments.
Implantable RFID chips would be covered under the law, but that's simply because they are one of thousands of devices that are classified as Type III or Type II implantable.
It's not a law, and even if it was, it no more mandates you get a chip implanted than it mandates you get a hip replacement.
This has also been quite well debunked over on Snopes:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/microchip.asp
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