Ha! Folks who really want to stick it to Obama and sow hysteria about
"death panels" will extract this from Obama's same fateful interview with David Leonhardt of the Times (my emphasis):
THE PRESIDENT: So that’s where I think you just get into some very difficult
moral issues. But that’s also a huge
driver of cost, right?
I mean, the chronically ill and those toward the end of their lives are accounting for potentially 80 percent of the total health care bill out here.
DAVID LEONHARDT: So how do you —
how do we deal with it?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think that there is going to have to be a
conversation that is guided by
doctors, scientists, ethicists.
Quote:
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Panel of scientists, ethicists doctors
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And then there is going to have to be a
very difficult democratic conversation that takes place. It is very difficult to imagine the country making those decisions just through the normal political channels. And that’s part of why you have to have some independent group that can give you
guidance. It’s not determinative, but I think
has to be able to give you some guidance. And that’s part of what I suspect you’ll see emerging out of the
various health care conversations that are taking place on the Hill right now.
So Obama "suspects" that the legislative process will produce some sort of independent group that can give non-determinative "
guidance" on end-of-life care for the chronically ill, with an eye towards
saving money. Just don't call them death panels!
Well, as are friends on the left will surely chant in unison, it's not in the bill right now so it is calumny and perfidy to suggest we might end up there. Even though Obama "suspects" we will.
HOW "NOT DETERMINATIVE" IS NOT DETERMINATIVE: Just how voluntary will Obama's voluntary guidelines be? If the government posts suggestions on a website and leaves it at that, that is one thing. But suppose governmnt watchdogs decide that a doctor who routinely fails to comply with the voluntary guidelines ought to be subjected to a full examination of his billing practices, treatment decisions and hiring practices. How many doctors will "volunteer" to comply with the guidelines rather than deal with that?
Quote:
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Not call it a panel and don't call it death. Call it guidance and notice the "costs" end immediately except for the funeral.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/ma...pagewanted=all