Posted on 05/09/2011 2:44:29 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The problem with the debate over the competing visions for health-care reform, Glenn Kessler writes at the Washington Post, is that Paul Ryan’s plan has not yet been cast in legislative language. That allows critics to assume the worst about it, and certainly Ryan’s critics have tried pushing the envelope on dire predictions for the health of seniors under his so-called “voucher” plan. But Kessler slams HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for an especially unsubstantiated charge that seniors would “die sooner” under Ryan’s plan:
Secretary Sebelius made this eye-popping statement Thursday while testifying on Capitol Hill, after Rep. Rob Andrews (D-N.J) asked her a question about the Medicare plan advanced by House Republicans: What might that cost shift and lack of guaranteed benefit mean for an oncology patient, a person with cancer? Give me an example, what it might do there.
Her answer was strong stuff, suggesting that the GOP plan could cause people to die sooner if they had cancer and ran out of money. We have been critical of some of the ways Republicans have described the plan, but is this even remotely possible?
There is one thing to keep in mind in the debate over the Ryan plan: all seniors would be guaranteed coverage. Ryan achieves this by adjusting the amount of credit seniors would get in the Medicare exchange system based on their pre-existing conditions, which would allow insurers to operate their risk pools more rationally. The scenario that Sebelius describes, Kessler notes, doesn’t match up to the reality of Ryan’s stated parameters at all. And while Kessler doesn’t note this, people should also keep in mind that the existing Medicare system nor the ObamaCare system doesn’t guarantee full payment of treatments now, let alone in the future, as anyone on Medicare could easily attest.
Kessler lowers the boom on Sebelius’ Mediscare tactics:
[T]his is in some ways akin to the false claim that Obama wanted to create death panels in the health care law.
Sebelius could have chosen to highlight the trade-offs people might face, or questioned the vagueness of Ryans proposals to deal with people who cant afford to pay their bills. Instead, she decided to present a highly inflammable comment as a statement of fact that there was no question people would run out money very quickly and then they would die sooner. She should be ashamed.
Kessler gives Sebelius three Pinocchios for this statement, but don’t be surprised to see Democrats continue to use this argument.
I think Kathleen has been smelling her armpit a little too much.
Quite obviously not all "false claims" are created equally...
WaPo fact checker: No, seniors wont die faster under Ryan plan (Sebelius ‘should be ashamed’)
You have to have morals to feel shame.
Under Sebelius babies will die faster. She hates them.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.