According to the last paragraph of the above excerpt, enough people though it was to remove them from the bill.
Sleight of hand.
Even at the time, it was a sleight of hand that the press played and too many commentators fell for.
Palin’s remark had to do with having to plead for treatment from a hostile regulator for her child with Down’s Syndrome. Immediately the talking heads shifted to a discussion of Obamacare paying for “end of life discussions”.
The “death panel” is at the very heart of Obamacare, the necessary rationing of care administered by regulators and a menu of available options as determined by them.