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The Spectacle Blog
The New York Times reports that the administration has brought back the end-of-life planning provision that triggered last year’s “death panel” debate. The measure allowed doctors to be paid for providing voluntary counseling to patients about deciding what kind of life-sustaining treatment they’d want if they were no longer in a condition to make decisions about their own care. As I wrote at that time, this is the reality of what happens when government is involved in medical care — suddenly the state gains an interest in individual decisions. And given that government at all levels is spending $1.1 trillion a year on health care, roughly half of which is federal Medicare spending, decisions about what they decide to pay and not pay for is going to have a major impact on medical care.
The Democrats’ dropped this provision in the Senate Finance Committee last summer because the “death panel” talk was generating too much negative attention to the then fledgling bill. But now, it’s back — and not surprisingly, it was revived by none other that Donald Berwick, the Medicare administrator who if you recall, was recess-appointed, because his self-professed love of Britain’s health care system and fondness for rationing made him unconfirmable. So though it isn’t a surprise, this news is it’s another example of how the Obama administration plans to achieve through regulation what it could not pass through legislation.
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More Blog Posts by Philip Klein
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/12/27/obama-admin-revives-death-pane
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c. j. acworth| 12.27.10 @ 2:19PM
"The measure allowed doctors to be paid for providing voluntary counseling..."
Where I come from you aren't called a volunteer if you get paid. You are an employee. I'd be willing to bet that the performance review is strongly influenced by the number of people a doctor manages to get to sign up for the "Off me at the first opportunity" option. Full disclosure, my 86 year old mother has a Living Will. She made the decision years ago without consulting anyone but her own good sense. She trusts my sister and I to make the right decision when and if the time comes.
Eugene Reilly| 12.27.10 @ 4:18PM
acworth, baby:
It's not "...she trusts my sister and I to ...".
It is "...she trusts my sister and me to ...".
Unless, of course, you take your grammar from the semi-literates on television, where your usage is almost univeral now.
A good rule for the gramatically challenged would for be for him to ask himself, "Would George Will say this?"
Of course this implies that the fish knows that it's in the water, so I'm probably not being fair.
Anyhow, Happy New Year.
Cris Worth| 12.27.10 @ 5:48PM
Back in the beginning Jan. 22, 1973...don't worry it's only first trimester, then second, then third, then partial birth and now death panels to oversee euthanasia of lucky ones who survived the womb but unlucky ones who government wants legally dead. Sounds like another regime who enforced the latter say about 70 years ago though vanquishing them we have adopted their policies.
MikeD| 12.28.10 @ 8:40AM
Now that berwick has put the issue front and center; he is essentially telling us that obama$$hole and his thugs are declaring publically that they want to kill Americans. Since barry the muslim and his fellow thugs are saying they're Americans, does that mean they are subject to the same laws? And, if so, does that mean, hypothetically, of course, that barry and his thugs are essentially telling us it is acceptable to kill Americans. How about if barry the muslim goes first? I don't think there'd be a shortage of Americans willing to take on the task, hypothetically, of course. Nobody would EVER want ANYTHING to happen to barry; would they?
Dale Cord| 12.28.10 @ 12:06PM
2011 a year that will live in Infamy. Future school history books will read: The year the Muslims conquered the United States of America. With not so much as a whimper from its cowardly military leaders, and name calling armchair patriots. Disgraceful,Shameful there are no words to adequately describe her defeat. As the 300 Spartans strength and ingenuity conquered all of those who challenged them. So it was with a small band of renegades that conquered the greatest country the world has ever known. When Davids rock slued Goliath. It also foretold a warning. "The bigger they are,the harder they Fall." Our country lost its battle of survival when it became intoxicated with its deceptive mentality, that it did not need its Creator anymore, and wisdom no longer was apart of its citizens physiology to survive.