Troubling Questions Remain About Obama’s Health Care Plan by Sarah Palin
Excerpt:
I join millions of Americans in expressing appreciation for the Senate Finance Committee’s decision to remove the provision in the pending health care bill that authorizes end-of-life consultations (Section 1233 of HR 3200). It’s gratifying that the voice of the people is getting through to Congress; however, that provision was not the only disturbing detail in this legislation; it was just one of the more obvious ones.
As I noted in my statement last week, nationalized health care inevitably leads to rationing. There is simply no way to cover everyone and hold down the costs at the same time. The rationing system proposed by one of President Obama’s key health care advisors is particularly disturbing. I’m speaking of the “Complete Lives System” advocated by Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the brother of the president’s chief of staff. President Obama has not yet stated any opposition to the “Complete Lives System,” a system which, if enacted, would refuse to allocate medical resources to the elderly, the infirm, and the disabled who have less economic potential. [1] Why the silence from the president on this aspect of his nationalization of health care? Does he agree with the “Complete Lives System”? If not, then why is Dr. Emanuel his policy advisor? What is he advising the president on?
People are kidding themselves if they think there are no health care “death panels” in existence and just waiting to be expanded upon. Insurance companies, who deny rightful claims without reason or under the technicality umbrella, have death squads whether decisions are made by individuals or actual committees. There are hospitals and nursing homes that have decided to get on board with their so-called ethics committees that make life and death decisions even in spite of the “actual” wishes of the patient or the patient’s family. Shall we say, “Andrea Clark“?
Now we have Gary Harvey from New York, whose wife is fighting both for his life and the right to take him home.
“This is a case where a 55 year old man had a heart attack, fell down the basement stairs, and ended up severely brain damaged. It is a case where still another so-called ethics committee felt it had some sort of god-like wisdom and right to determine life or death for a stranger. It is a case where a so-called ethics committee decided, behind closed doors, that it was perfectly okay to starve and dehydrate this man — Gary Harvey — to death by termination of his Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) feeding tube.”
Thankfully the request has been dismissed for now.
President Barack Obama said the AARP had endorsed his health care reform.
The exact quote from Obama at a town hall meeting in Portsmouth, N.H.:
We have the AARP on board because they know this is a good deal for our seniors. AARP would not be endorsing a bill if it was undermining Medicare.
This is what COO Tom Nelson says about Obama’s claim:
AARP has been working with Democrats and Republicans to fix our broken health care system. While the president was correct that AARP will not endorse a health care reform bill that would reduce Medicare benefits, indications that we have endorsed any of the major health care reform bills currently under consideration in Congress are inaccurate.
One of the largest spending cuts Congress could rely on to pay for an overhaul of the nation’s health care system comes from a Medicare program President Obama has called a “wasteful” subsidy for the health insurance industry.
Debate over Medicare Advantage, which has 10.2 million enrollees — about one-fifth of all Medicare participants — illustrates a broader struggle Congress and Obama face as they look for ways to pay for a $1 trillion overhaul of health care without raising taxes on the middle class or compromising care.
It has raised concerns among some seniors who might have to pay more for the program or enroll in regular Medicare instead.
A Gallup Poll found only 20% of Americans over 65 say an overhaul will improve their health care — the lowest showing of three age groups.
Since Medicare was established in 1965, access to care has enabled older Americans to avoid becoming disabled and languishing in nursing homes. But legislation now being rushed through Congress — H.R. 3200 and the Senate Health Committee Bill — will reduce access to care, pressure the elderly to end their lives prematurely, and doom baby boomers to painful later years.
Excerpt:
While the House bill being pushed by the president reduces access to such cures and specialists, it ensures that seniors are counseled on end-of-life options, including refusing nutrition where state law allows it (pp. 425-446). In Oregon, the state is denying some cancer patients care that could extend their lives and is offering them physician-assisted suicide instead.
Since Medicare was established in 1965, access to care has enabled older Americans to avoid becoming disabled and languishing in nursing homes. But legislation now being rushed through Congress — H.R. 3200 and the Senate Health Committee Bill — will reduce access to care, pressure the elderly to end their lives prematurely, and doom baby boomers to painful later years.
Excerpt:
While the House bill being pushed by the president reduces access to such cures and specialists, it ensures that seniors are counseled on end-of-life options, including refusing nutrition where state law allows it (pp. 425-446). In Oregon, the state is denying some cancer patients care that could extend their lives and is offering them physician-assisted suicide instead.
National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse 