Was Sarah Palin right referencing death panels in her criticism of Obama’s health care reform bill? Well, yes and no. She was making reference to the portion of the bill that provides for “voluntary” end of life counseling. In reality, what that provision does is to provide reimbursement to doctors for providing the service while simultaneously spelling out the nature of the service and how it should be provided. On its face, it sounds legit. But read in conjunction with other portions of the bill, one could easily reach the death panel conclusion.
The bill states the following:
“SEC. 123. HEALTH BENEFITS ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a private-public advisory committee which shall be a panel of medical and other experts to be known as the Health Benefits Advisory Committee to recommend covered benefits and essential, enhanced, and premium plans.
(1) RECOMMENDATIONS ON BENEFIT STANDARDS.—The Health Benefits Advisory Committee shall recommend to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this subtitle referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) benefit standards (as defined in paragraph (4)), and periodic updates to such standards. In developing such recommendations, the Committee shall take into account innovation in health care and consider how such standards could reduce health disparities.
PART D—COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH
COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH
SEC.1181. (a) CENTER FOR COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH ESTABLISHED.
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish within the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality a Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research (in this section referred to as the ‘Center’) to conduct, support, and synthesize research (including research conducted or supported under section of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003) with respect to the outcomes, effectiveness, and appropriateness of health care services and procedures in order to identify the manner in which diseases, disorders, and other health conditions can most effectively and appropriately be prevented, diagnosed, treated, and
managed clinically.”
(THE BILL THEN GOES ON TO ESTABLISH A LONG LIST OF RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE COMMISSION INCLUDING THE GATHERING OF MASSIVES AMOUNT OF DATA)
Included in the duties of the commission:
“(K) make recommendations to the center for the broad dissemination of the findings of research conducted and supported under this section that enables clinicians, patients, consumers, and payers to make more informed health care decisions that improve quality and value.”
What does all of the above mean? It means the government sets the standards for what medical treatment is acceptable and what is not acceptable. The Agency for Comparative Effectiveness will provide the information to the Benefits Advisory Board as to what treatments you will receive under the government mandated plan. Included in the massive amounts of information the government will be gathering, will information like is it worth it to fix the hip of a terminally ill cancer patient, if you are overweight and need a bypass, will the estimated length of life justify the expense of the surgery.
These draconian measures absolutely reflect the views of Barack Obama’s two chief advisors on health care issues: Former Senator Tom Daschle and Dr. Ezikiel Emanuel, brother of Obama’s White House Chief of Staff, who have overtly stated that the lives of seniors are worth less than the lives of younger people.
The bill states the following:
“SEC. 123. HEALTH BENEFITS ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a private-public advisory committee which shall be a panel of medical and other experts to be known as the Health Benefits Advisory Committee to recommend covered benefits and essential, enhanced, and premium plans.
(1) RECOMMENDATIONS ON BENEFIT STANDARDS.—The Health Benefits Advisory Committee shall recommend to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this subtitle referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) benefit standards (as defined in paragraph (4)), and periodic updates to such standards. In developing such recommendations, the Committee shall take into account innovation in health care and consider how such standards could reduce health disparities.
PART D—COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH
COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH
SEC.1181. (a) CENTER FOR COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH ESTABLISHED.
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish within the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality a Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research (in this section referred to as the ‘Center’) to conduct, support, and synthesize research (including research conducted or supported under section of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003) with respect to the outcomes, effectiveness, and appropriateness of health care services and procedures in order to identify the manner in which diseases, disorders, and other health conditions can most effectively and appropriately be prevented, diagnosed, treated, and
managed clinically.”
(THE BILL THEN GOES ON TO ESTABLISH A LONG LIST OF RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE COMMISSION INCLUDING THE GATHERING OF MASSIVES AMOUNT OF DATA)
Included in the duties of the commission:
“(K) make recommendations to the center for the broad dissemination of the findings of research conducted and supported under this section that enables clinicians, patients, consumers, and payers to make more informed health care decisions that improve quality and value.”
What does all of the above mean? It means the government sets the standards for what medical treatment is acceptable and what is not acceptable. The Agency for Comparative Effectiveness will provide the information to the Benefits Advisory Board as to what treatments you will receive under the government mandated plan. Included in the massive amounts of information the government will be gathering, will information like is it worth it to fix the hip of a terminally ill cancer patient, if you are overweight and need a bypass, will the estimated length of life justify the expense of the surgery.
These draconian measures absolutely reflect the views of Barack Obama’s two chief advisors on health care issues: Former Senator Tom Daschle and Dr. Ezikiel Emanuel, brother of Obama’s White House Chief of Staff, who have overtly stated that the lives of seniors are worth less than the lives of younger people.
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