Posted on 08/12/2009 12:19:46 PM PDT by spacejunkie2001
WDBO Local News
Congressman Mica: death counselors are real By Bob Hazen @ August 12, 2009 7:26 AM Permalink | Comments (1) President Obama is fighting what he calls "wild misrepresentations" being made about what is in the health care overhaul plan being debated in Congress. But a Central Florida congressman says one of those "misrepresentations" is actually true.
Congressman John Mica says the idea of "death counselors" are real.
"They create a whole new category," Mica, a Winter Park Republican, said on WDBO. "There are death counselors. There is authorization for reimbursement for those counselors for Medicare. You have a whole new cottage industry.
The "death panel" idea comes from a 10-page section for "advanced care planning consultations" of the health care overhaul bill. Those consultations would reimburse doctors for talking with patients every 5 years about what kind of care they want at the end of their lives.
Opponents have said the provision amounts to doctors telling you how you should die, and could possibly be a first step towards advocating euthanasia for the ill and the elderly.
Supporters say it only aims to motivate doctors to let patients know their options.
This really is one of the dumbest ways to attack this bill.
Tell that stupid opinion to a senior with a bad hip and slow moving cancer . I would enjoy watching them tear you up !
We know how libs work--and it isn't toward giving less and less power to bureaucrats.
Exposes Obamacare!
5 FREEDOMS YOU WILL LOSE UNDER OBAMA-CARE!
‘Supporters say it only aims to motivate doctors to let patients know their options.’
This isn’t happening now? And, another question: What is the plan for dealing with the elderly who suffer from Altzheimers or dementia? What if they don’t understand the ‘options’ that are being offered to them and make an uninformed choice? Is there another government agency that will intercede on their behalf, or will we see multiple cases of ‘tough s***, Sherlock’?
if a death counselor came to my house, because I’m too old to fight, I’d just shoot him/her. I would treat them as if they were trying to kill me, which I believe is what this is all about. The grim reaper will never be welcomed in to my life or house.
BINGO. The Democratic Socialists of America are proposing killing off certain classes of citizen. Isn’t self-defense a fundamental right?
"Say, would you mind standing over there? Yes, right there, on the plastic dropcloth..."
We already know that Ezekiel Emanuel, Obummer’s chief medical advisor, advises that people with Alzheimers should NOT get treatment.
So that solves that, eh?
You mean the senior that's already on government run health insurance?
A doctor telling someone about living wills, etc., is hardly a "death panel."
There are plenty of good reasons to oppose this bill. Why distract with bad arguments like this one?
My husband, 81, and I have had end of life directives or living wills for 25 years or so; you might be surprised at the people who do not--it is as though refusing to face possibilities translates into living longer and not needing to face unpalatable possibilities.
The problem with this end counseling is the same as with the entire bill. Right now the WH is touting choices and merely offering to reimburse doctors for counseling for end of life.
If health care is nationalized, watch your options shrink into having national care or no care. Watch end of life counseling morph from reimbursement for a freely chosen counseling into a MUST be counseled and probably eventually by a bureaucrat appointed by Ezekiel Emanuel or a like minded appointee, instead of your family dr.. You will wait in line and be told, perhaps euphemistically to go home, find a comfortable chair or bed and await the death angel. Eventually, they may anticipate the death angel.
Actually, it would be cheaper to do like the Indians (native Am)used to do--find a cave and settle the old ones down with a blanket, a bottle of water and a bag of meal/cereal/etc. Tell them that when that is gone, so must they be.
Hope I have shed some light--anyway, that is my interpretation. Obama, the Ezekiels et al will say ANYTHING and promise EVERYTHING to get this into law. Then, they can gradually morph it into the disaster they want it to be for Americans--babies and old people hardest hit.
vaudine
Sure, I know the counseling is in the bill. I've read that part. I just don't think it's the boogeyman people on the Right are trying to make it out to be.
A lot of hospitals already give this kind of counseling whenever someone is admitted.
There is a HUGE difference between being able to CHOOSE what you want and need to do and being FORCED by the government.
You do see the difference, do you not?
And the government, in this bill is MANDATING end of life counseling by a doctor THEY choose, not you. How personal is that?
‘We already know that Ezekiel Emanuel, Obummers chief medical advisor, advises that people with Alzheimers should NOT get treatment.
So that solves that, eh?’
Liberals keep condradicting themselves. Don’t smoke, not even in your own home, it makes you and other people sick, and you’ll die young. Don’t eat meat, go vegan, it’s the healthy life style, and you’ll live longer (so will the cattle). Reduce carbon emissions, they’ll destroy the Earth, the tides will rise and the floods will come, and we’ll all die. Wait, you listened to us, and you’re all living to an old age? Drop dead.
It starts as a simple suggestion, then ends up a mandate. It is in your best interest to see the Dr. to discuss options. It becomes, we are taking you to the Dr. D. Why? To be put down like a dog! It is a new cost savings measure, that our fearless leader has decided for we the peasants.
“A doctor telling someone about living wills, etc., is hardly a “death panel.”
There are plenty of good reasons to oppose this bill. Why distract with bad arguments like this one?”
This issue is at the core of resistance to the bill. Government control from cradle to grave including when and if either of those take place. This is real, tangible and it is the end objective of this bill. Single payer healthcare where selected groups are locked away to die due to the cost of care. The retarded, disabled, elderly and infirm will be the first to go. Politburos will make major medical decisions, and no doubt yours and my file will have a printout of all political donations and affiliations when that decision is made. Private payment for services will be outlawed as will doctors performing non gov’t approved services.
You can call it a “Death Panel” or a “Health Care Advisory Board” or “Consumer Review Assistance Process” but the bottom line is that it isn’t me and my doctor alone.
This government was been on a 100 year march to this end. Only Reagan prevented this from coming to a head sooner.
Note well the subtle use of language (thanks for the parsing lessons, WJC!) Supporters will say it isn't mandatory. Well, RTFB, supporters. Doctors are required to report "both the creation of and adherence to orders for life sustaining treatment" (p 431). Even if "required" is too strong a word, woe be unto the doc whose license (and income) is in the hands of bureaucrats who have not received the requisite DD-5's (channeling Radar O'Reilly cussing out Hawkeye). You know damned well that the motivation is done with a stick and not a carrot.
Must dive into Section 1848(k)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w4(k)(2)) to find the stick.
Vaudine, thanks for your opinion on the matter. I do appreciate it.
Sorry, you gave them too much. That's "artificially administered nutrition and hydration" and you may well be violating the end-of-life directive. I think the blanket is problematic too.
"Hi, I'm from the government."
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