Being one of the “feeble, ineffectual, even pathetic” folks over 75, I rather take umbrage at this characterization. Ezekiel Emanuel was a failure as a human being when he was 17, and he has not gained much momentum since then.
This is reflected in all sorts of subtle and not-so-subtle ways in the wording of the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010”. First, much of the funding was simply STOLEN from Medicare, and a vast part of the burden was shifted to Medicaid, which also negatively impacts an inordinate number of seniors. Not only are the funds taken away, the very things for which Medicare and Medicaid were set up to directly target, are also being put on a much restricted list. There are “death panels” written into the text, but they are not called by that name.
“Cost containment” is the name put on this practice, but it is essentially rationing, and it is age-based, on something called QARY (Quality-Adjusted Remaining Years). Older people have fewer “productive” years remaining, goes the reasoning, so they should “get out of the way”.
Obamacare can be summed up in three bullet points -
1. Pay more than you ever have in the past for medical services;
2. Don’t get sick, and;
3. If you do get sick, die quickly.
My dad died at 90 years old. He was vibrant and engaged right up to the end. Feeble? He was still physically stronger than many younger men and he was neither ineffectual or pathetic. The Emmanuel brothers are evil and there is no other word for them.
A friend of mine is way over 75 and he and his wife just got back from a trip to Italy. Earlier this year they went to Alaska with a church group to do some work for free up there, some kind of construction. I often see them at the gym. They are more active than a lot of kids who sit and play video games all day!
I just looked up articles about Leonard Cohen’s new album. He is 80. One of his new songs is EXCUSE ME FOR NOT DYING!
I am 63 and I very much already feel Old and in the Way.
So please also excue me for not dying. I love his song Like a Bird on a Wire. Like a drunk in a midnight choir. I have burned everyone who reached out to me.