Way back in 2010, anyone opposed to any portion of the looming nightmare called Obamacare, those of us who were opposed to it for a variety of reasons were regularly ridiculed and called liars for pointing out any number of inevitable problems with the law. We were told by the Democrats and their faithful lapdogs in the press that the law would in no way raise premiums.
We all know how that turned out.
Another frequent point of contention was the rationing of health care that any sane person knew was coming. The left seized on Sarah Palin’s “death panels” comment and proceeded to use only semantics to counter anyone who said rationing was bound to happen. They’d gleefully point out that nowhere in the law did the phrase “death panels” occur, so (in their minds) that meant they’d never happen.
Ignorance…bliss, you know the drill.
If you have argued with leftists even a few times, you are probably familiar with this common literal semantics ploy. They will lock onto a word, and try to make the argument all about that, generally because they have no logical defense for the larger issue.
The insurance company people who make rules for what is and is not going to be covered may not call themselves “panels” but they’re doing everything the Obamacare naysayers said they would be doing.
At age 29, Packer was diagnosed with scleroderma, a chronic autoimmune disease that causes scar tissue to form in her lungs. A doctor told her she had three years to live. Now 33, she has outlived the death sentence.
But as her condition deteriorates, she’s finding little support for her fight to stay alive.
Since California’s End of Life Option Act took effect, attitudes expressed by sick members of support groups she’s run or been involved with have changed to the grim. Where once members exchanged messages of hope, “people constantly are talking about, ‘We should be doing this [dying].’ ”
“I just wanted no part of it,” says Packer, a devout Roman Catholic.
Then her doctors suggested that switching to another chemotherapy drug might buy her time. Her medical insurance company refused to pay. She says she asked if the company covered the cost of drugs to put her to death. She was told the answer is yes — with a co-payment of $1.20.
“My jaw dropped.”
They won’t pay for living but will for dying. Certainly sounds death panel-ish to me.
After decades of having no respect for the beginning of human life, leftists have completed their journey and are now working hard to make sure people are disposable at the other end as well. The value of human life is reduced to the numbers on a spreadsheet. The bottom line looks better when the dead weight, which in this case is actually alive, is jettisoned.
The insurance company finally changed its mind in this case, but that won’t always happen. When more and more insurers adopt certain practices, the threat of bad publicity won’t be as powerful.
In the end it may be a corporate board or an accounting department that influences the ultimate decision to prioritize ending life over keeping it going.
The spirit of the death panels will be quite alive, however.
