Soylent Green
Posted on 11/22/2009 5:09:27 PM PST by SoCalTransplant
Wondering if anyone else saw the 60 Minutes piece on the cost of Dying. If you missed it, the only thing missing was "My name is Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and I approve this message.
A brief synopsis was that they had 2 doctors on and a "taxpayer advocate" that said the answer to America's woes in healthcare costs were to go ahead and let terminally ill patients die, and give them less treatments and services. Rationing, it was explained, wasn't a dirty word, but in fact was the right path to not bankrupting ourselves. We must, as one of the "death doctors" put it, embrace the idea of what a moral, robust death looks like.
Particularly offensive to me was that they actually went into a man's death bed while this same "death doctor" tried to talk a patient into not having CPR preformed on him should his heart stop. When the man said he wanted all attempts to revive him to be made, should his heart stop, and we watched Dr. Death assure him his wishes would be followed, it immediately went to a cut scene where Dr. Death, in so many words, stated that the man had made the wrong choice. So I guess it was "we will honor your wishes, but reserve the right to skewer your wishes on national TV".
Then, after another cutaway while the narrator explained that Medicare was not allowed to deny coverage due to cost, and could even be required to require for a defibulator to be placed in the body of a 93 year old, it was back to Dr. Death. His comment was to lament that there wasn't some official policy by which he, as a doctor, could say "we dont do that proceedure for people your age".
I'm sure I missed parts that were important, but wanted to see who else was disgusted by this. I know the MSM are cheerleaders, but this was particularly vile; Taking advantage of a man on deaths door, to promote a policy that the man's very actions showed he wouldn't favor.
But no moral worry though..CBS informed us at the end of the piece that the man had died this week, and his family had agreed before his death that it was okay to ignore his request for revival.
So that makes it all okay for CBS, I suppose.
Okay, so those who think the costs are too high, don’t get treatments. The rest of us can avail ourselves upon the health care system with the best cancer survival rate in the world. We’ll see who lives the longest.
I saw part of it before switching in disgust - some woman was babbling on about how “... during the last four weeks of a person’s life their medical costs are $50,000 ...”
My husband had left the tv running after he walked out of the room. I was in the kitchen and overheard this propaganda piece; needless to say I changed the channel.
ML/NJ
I forgot to add, that no one FORCES anyone who is terminally ill to seek life extending treatments. It is still up to the individual, at least until these creeps get their way. I’m so mad I could scream, especially since I just got the news that a good friend (20 year old male) has an inoperable brain tumor. If it were up to Zero and his crew, my friend would just be murdered (euthanized) on the spot. They make me sick. I wish all those in favor of this health care monstrosity would get a cancer. That may sound harsh, but apparently that’s the only way they’ll understand. I’m so sick of those in Washington whining about costs. How much did it cost to stay open to vote on Cloture Saturday night?
“during the last four weeks of a person’s life their medical costs are $50,000 ...”
What this means, of course, is that it’s expensive to perform any emergency procedures on anyone at any time, becuase we don’t know when the last four weeks of a person’s life will be. We cannot go down this path.
I watched it and I AGREE with the part where the former GAO head, David Walker, said healthcare is the only part of the US economy that can bankrupt it. What bothered me about the piece, other than its pandering, was the fact that death panels and pulling the plug on old people was presented as the only answer to stopping our skyrocketing healthcare costs. Statistics actually show passing Obamacare will make costs go UP because more terminally ill people (mostly drug abusers and the destitute) will be eligible for the “public option.” The McCain/John Mackey plan of allowing competition across state lines for healthcare and rewarding good healthcare consumers with lower coverage rates wasn’t even mentioned. In reality, allowing companies to compete for the best, most healthy and physically fit customers is the ONLY thing that can save our healthcare system.
Watched it. Never a mention of all the hospital stays that have resulted in older patients recovering and living meaningful lives for many years. Ralm Emmanuals brother (Obama’s expert) suggests age 55 or earlier for limiting care.
“”Okay, so those who think the costs are too high, don’t get treatments. The rest of us can avail ourselves upon the health care system with the best cancer survival rate in the world. We’ll see who lives the longest.””
Anyone know what Max Baucus’s mother has? He had to be at her sickbed, that’s why he missed the vote last night? I think it would be interesting to know if he would approve of her NOT RECEIVING CARE since he’s so proud of the bill he put together.
And, of course, their decision had nothing to do with the fact that CBS had their cameras at his bed trying to shame him and his family into the outcome they wanted. /sarc
Just wow. We are offically living in Bizarro World. And it’s damn scary...
During the broadcast they mentioned that one of the reasons for the high cost of end-of-life healthcare is the cost of all the extraordinary tests ordered by doctors. But there was ZERO mention of WHY those tests are conducted:
FEAR OF LAWSUITS!!
CBS couldn’t bear offending the DNC’s main benefactor, the trial lawyers.
I did not need to see this on 60 Minutes, I have been fending off a Dr.Death this past week. She tried to scare me off treating my mother’s pneumonia. She even said she had a DNR,she and the er backed down in a hurry when I said let me see this document. There was no document I’m the medical power of attorney and I never signed one. After I demanded to see it they said they didn’t have a copy and that it was rescinded anyway, I looked straight at her and said IT NEVER EXISTED.
cBS and the doctor(s) they interviewed advocate death panels. One doctor said it should not be up to weak patients to decide procedures, but to use a blanket policy to deny care for people in their particular conditions.
The patient and their family are the ones who should decide to live on not you guys at cBS and the doctors who advocate death.
Another doctor said today’s health care will lead the US to bankruptcy, and conveyed the idea that care should be withheld. I don’t agree with the premise...or by having the government completely takeover the health industry is the answer to cost problems that we don’t really have?
They’ve worked so hard to keep us all alive, lose weight, don’t smoke, don’t drink to excess, exersize, go to the doctor regularly, eat your vegetables and now they want us to hurry up and die.
Thought I heard one of the Doctors say that’s why they run all the tests?
Not sure?
I think I’d rather have a real death panel.
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