At the same time, they think it's a great idea to pay for this type of counseling - which they say has already been taking place for some time. They also say that to call them "death panels" is a complete misrepresentation.
1) We need to kill off the old folks: they cost too much.
2) We need to import more illegal Mexicans: they work cheap.
Berwick would have been right at home in T4.
Ofcourse it is death panel. The bureacracy will decide what treatments as necessary using AGE, Income (nursing home) and lastly ourcome. If they have a end-of-life document to fall back on, treatment will be denied. Simple.
Especially with the BB’ers hitting the system, must cull the herd.
It may be a misrepresentation at this point, but it opens the door. Once the door is open then it will evolve into seniors being counseled (pressured?) towards, or given limited choices regarding their health.
Actually that is not the point, the article specifies that the debate has been politicized. The issue is that it was done ‘behind the scenes’ and that continues the current administration and their appointees efforts to circumvent the court of public opinion and Congress to achieve their desires.
And no matter how you slice it, at the end of the day, when government is involved in health care decisions eventually they will begin to ration treatment based on the direction of political winds, all in the name of ‘controlling costs’.
Now, I agree with the premise that medicare recipients are entitled to being fully informed medical consumers and if that means compensating the doctors for their time in giving that information, so be it. However, I suspect this is more likely a "camel's nose" situation and that the metrics from the reimbursement coding will eventually come into play. The original bill laid bare the intent and I have zero trust that this administration is not trying to "boil the frog" one degree at a time.
What’s the penalty for dying, without government-funded advice on the subject?