Sarah Palin Awaits an Apology
Ricochet members will note that I'm not a big Sarah Palin fan. Especially lately, as she's been hanging around reality TV stars.
On the other hand, she was right about the "Death Panels." Back in 2009, she warned -- on Facebook, of all places -- about Obamacare's "Advanced Care Planning Consultations." She called them, famously, "Death Panels," and she was right. (And isn't it weird how "Death Panels" sounds a whole lot less sinister than "Advanced Care Planning Consultations?" I mean, at least you know where you stand with a Death Panel.)
So the Obama administration, after loudly denying that the Advanced Care Planning Consultations were any such thing, decided to drop them from the bill, saying, in effect, "We never proposed Death Panels, there's no such thing as a Death Panel, and if it'll shut you up, we'll take the Death Panel provision out of the proposal."
But now -- surprise! -- they're back. From the NYTimes:
When a proposal to encourage end-of-life planning touched off a political storm over “death panels,” Democrats dropped it from legislation to overhaul the health care system. But the Obama administration will achieve the same goal by regulation, starting Jan. 1.
Under the new policy, outlined in a Medicare regulation, the government will pay doctors who advise patients on options for end-of-life care, which may include advance directives to forgo aggressive life-sustaining treatment...
While the new law does not mention advance care planning, the Obama administration has been able to achieve its policy goal through the regulation-writing process, a strategy that could become more prevalent in the next two years as the president deals with a strengthened Republican opposition in Congress.
"Planning" and "consultation" and "directives" are fun, cheerful words in this context, aren't they? Somehow, between her reality TV show and shooting defenseless animals, Sarah Palin managed to figure this out. And Obama figured out, too, that what he doesn't have the votes for, he can use regulatory powers to achieve.
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Nov '10
Re: Sarah Palin Awaits an Apology
We are doomed.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, will stop this nightmare short of Revolution.
Jun '10
Re: Sarah Palin Awaits an Apology
A lot of us flyover folks understand that smart sounding words do not indicate a greater intelligence than simple common sense perception. Palin exemplifies common sense in what she says, not always in how she says it.
Now it's time for Kenneth to remind us of Palin's "chubby" daughter.
May '10
Re: Sarah Palin Awaits an Apology
Pretty goshdarn impressive for a vacuous nincompoop.
Jun '10
Re: Sarah Palin Awaits an Apology
Also remember, leftists never apologize.
May '10
Re: Sarah Palin Awaits an Apology
As Mark Steyn pointed out last week on Rush Limbaugh's show: what voting booth do you go to to vote these regulators out? A few people who know nothing about you at all in an office in Washington somewhere are making key decisions about how you will live your life and you will have nothing to say about it.
Regulation-writing run amok has become the friend of tyrants and the enemy of consensual government.
Nov '10
Re: Sarah Palin Awaits an Apology
Kervinlee
Regulation-writing run amok has become the friend of tyrants and the enemy of consensual government.
Elections simply do not matter anymore. The 2010 mid-terms were an exercise in futility.
Jul '10
Re: Sarah Palin Awaits an Apology
"Under the new policy, outlined in a Medicare regulation, the government will pay doctors.. to forgo aggressive life-sustaining treatment..."
Naw, doesn't sound like death directives to Me.
Jul '10
Re: Sarah Palin Awaits an Apology
But then again, "death panels" ain't new.
Oct '10
Re: Sarah Palin Awaits an Apology
"The wise man said it could not be done. The 'fool' came and did it." - Chinese proverb
That bit of homespun wisdom always comes to mind when I see Sarah Palin being lectured to by her alleged betters.
May '10
Re: Sarah Palin Awaits an Apology
My main concern, strange as it may sound, is being marooned at the intersection of Obamacare Ave., and War On Drugs Blvd.
No money to treat a painful terminal illness, and no pain medication available because of the war on drugs (happens already, you gotta beg and beg for pain medication for a broken bone, been there, done that).
@Lady K, the next two years will tell the tale, as we see how the new majority in the House of Reps comports itself.
Oct '10
Re: Sarah Palin Awaits an Apology
Nick Stuart:
No money to treat a painful terminal illness, and no pain medication available because of the war on drugs (happens already, you gotta beg and beg for pain medication for a broken bone, been there, done that).· Dec 26 at 3:44pm
...or for a pinched nerve. Yes, I'm often left wondering what good the FDA really does.
Jun '10
Re: Sarah Palin Awaits an Apology
I understand that the new government run health clinics will be serving complimentary wedgies of soylent green while you wait.
Dec '10
Re: Sarah Palin Awaits an Apology
Mike LaRoche
Nick Stuart:
No money to treat a painful terminal illness, and no pain medication available because of the war on drugs (happens already, you gotta beg and beg for pain medication for a broken bone, been there, done that).· Dec 26 at 3:44pm
...or for a pinched nerve. Yes, I'm often left wondering what good the FDA really does. · Dec 26 at 3:48pm
Let me recommend Peter Robinson's interview of Milton Friedman on the subject, now playing from the archives of Uncommon Knowledge at NRO, wherein Friedman explains why the FDA always operates with the incentive to delay approval of potentially life-saving or pain-relieving medications. I expect the Advanced Care Planning Consultations will result in a similar bureaucratic foot-dragging, leading to many "advanced" stage problems resolving themselves...
Aug '10
Re: Sarah Palin Awaits an Apology
Lady K Take hope . We shall death panel this regulation. If you desireth it, it shall be toast. Give us the word, coming with us to give put neighbors their lives back . Hey people make bad decisions with bad info
Oct '10
Re: Sarah Palin Awaits an Apology
I attempted to get more background on this regulation before I made this post but was unable to obtain any evidence of the intent of the regulation. That being said, it appears from the context of the article that this is a reimbursement issue not a policy issue. As such, if I am correct, this may be a good thing for patients and doctors. Currently under medicare reimbursement guidelines, doctors cannot bill for the time they spend in counseling patients and families in end of life issues, and, as a result, doctors have less incentive to perform this important task. Being a physician in active clinical practice, I can't tell you how much unnecessary grief and suffering, as well as wasted rescources, are incurred because inadequate counseling and planning for end of life issues are not addressed until a "crisis" occurrs, when patients and families have to make difficult decisions without adeqate preparation. We do well to be vigilant for anything that quacks like a death panel, but this sounds more like regulation than rationing.
May '10
Re: Sarah Palin Awaits an Apology
I don't know if I'm a "fan" of Palin's -- I have no intent of ever voting for her, but I love how she twists the Left's knickers into knots. My recent favorite being the oh-so-intelligent commentators making fun of her for reading C.S. Lewis, while betraying their complete ignorance of an important 20th century thinker (I say that as someone who mostly disagrees with Mr. Lewis, but who respects him and his impact on Christianity.)
It was the height of deception to say she was completely totally wrong about "death panels" -- of course there would be such things in any centralized, regulated program. It's unavoidable that resource decisions must be made about when end-of-life care will or won't be provided.
Same is true for any family making the decision...the only difference is that the family can make that decision based on the wishes of the ill person as well as their financial situation. There's the question of how to help the family if they are poor, but the resource allocation question remains regardless of who makes the decision.
Edited on Dec 26, 2010 at 6:10pmMay '10
Re: Sarah Palin Awaits an Apology
It's not the "consult" that's the problem. What is the problem is when Medicare/Medicaid and the state-run "pools" begin to refuse treatments because they provide insufficient return for the investment.
Read the opinions of Ezekiel Emanuel (Rahm's brother) about "the ethics of clinical research, advance care directives, end-of-life issues, euthanasia, the ethics of managed care."
That will scare you to death.
Re: Sarah Palin Awaits an Apology
Rob: Good catch (I tweeted your post) -- and Merry Christmas -- to you and all the Ricochet family.
Re: Sarah Palin Awaits an Apology
Good Berean, you may be interested in this editorial from a liberal health-care supporter explaining some of the concerns with these consults.
Nov '10
Re: Sarah Palin Awaits an Apology
Soy beans and lentils, my friends...