Is the Government Going to Euthanize your Grandmother? An Interview With Sen. Johnny Isakson

Washington Post ^ | 8/10/09 | Ezra Klein

[steve-b]

Sarah Palin's belief that the House health-care reform bill would create "death panels" might be particularly extreme, but she's hardly the only person to wildly misunderstand the section of the bill ordering Medicare to cover voluntary end-of-life counseling sessions between doctors and their patients.

One of the foremost advocates of expanding Medicare end-of-life planning coverage is Johnny Isakson, a Republican Senator from Georgia. He co-sponsored 2007's Medicare End-of-Life Planning Act and proposed an amendment similar to the House bill's Section 1233 during the Senate HELP Committee's mark-up of its health care bill. I reached Sen. Isakson at his office this afternoon. He was befuddled that this had become a question of euthanasia, termed Palin's interpretation "nuts," and emphasized that all 50 states currently have some legislation allowing end-of-life directives. A transcript of our conversation follows....

[silverleaf]

“..ordering Medicare to cover voluntary end-of-life counseling sessions between doctors and their patients”

“Ordering” and “voluntary”.... in the same sentence, yet

This bill requires DOCUMENTED regular counseling sessions and lays the timing and subject matter out in meticulous detail. “Someone” (Ezekiel Emmanuel?) obviously put a LOT of effort into the wording of this bill.

THIS IS A WATERSHED in the relationship between the American government and free citizens of the USA, and the role and power of that govt to set an economic value on each individual life.

WE DO NOT WANT IT.

[FES0844]

he just wants medicare to pay for a session...
We already have that. Been down that road twice this past year...decisions were made but not by a panel of end of life counselors. Just my opinion.

[kindred]

The democrats and rinos of the US Congress and the democrat president are murderers of young souls and the womb and now want to murder older people against their will and the evil of the leftist communist liberals needs to be met headon.
We knew that abortion would lead to these greater evils of an ammoral society and we were right.
We were and are right because we believe the Word of God and know Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
This is a most violent generation and reminds me of the days of Noah.

[WilliamofCarmichael]

Why didn't they mention palliative care? The excerpts of Sec. 1233 that I've seen has it, comments by the designers of government health care "reform" talked about it, and the owner of the 1960s Marxist-Alinsky hippie street rabble and their ideological issue (children)-cum-Rat Party (formerly the traditional, patriotic Democratic Party), George Soros, advocates it. So why didn't the employees of the Washington Post ask about palliative care?

Euthanasia lite?

[kindred]

[When 0bama uses the word “folks” it is code for “I want them dead.”]

Obamanation is an evil man and may qualify as the worst evil President the stupid is as stupid does of America elected.
Folks like Obama need to understand truth and stop being liars,tyrants and murderers of old and young souls.

[Goreknowshowtocheat]

Counseling session: Yes there are medications that will give you 7 to 10 more years of active life, but in this counseling session we alert you to the facts that Dr. Megele Immanuel has taken those medications out of your National Health Coverage. You are limited to hospice care at this point. Would you like a durable power of attorney now? We can have it in place when you die in 4 weeks.

[1010RD]

There’s a ton of great info in your link fest, but you ought to break it up a bit. It’s very hard to absorb. Thanks for posting it, though.

[billhilly]

What the media can’t seem to understand is that their indoctrination has failed. We don’t believe them. The average American is far wiser than the average reporter. Maybe not smarter, but definitely wiser and far more experienced.

[drangundsturm]

A family friend of ours is a physician in Austria and last year she came to visit. We talked to her about the policy in europe of denying many kinds of life saving surgery to people over the age of 80. With a completely straight face, almost looking brainwashed, she told us, “Of course you can’t give expensive procedures to old people. They lived their life, they’re going to die soon anyway.” She saw absolutely nothing wrong with it. That is the prevailing attitude of all the physicians in Europe.

Make no mistake: what Obama and his crew are going for is the same kind of system in the USA. Oh, they will slowly get us there, over a period of decades maybe, one inch at a time. It will start with “end of life counseling” and go on from there, indoctrinated in our young people from birth most likely. But at some point they want all the people here to have the same attitude as our Austrian friend.

[Quickgun]

The government's bill is going to provide end of life counseling. The government's bill is designed to minimize cost to itself. the government wouldn't include the end of life counseling as mandatory unless there were going to be some more sinister results included, because the counseling would be a waste if it did not. 2+2=4
This administration would provide the drugs for suicide first with refusal of pain medication. Since all of the retirement centers and nursing homes would be government run, those who held off would simply be poisoned.

[AliVeritas]

Check out the numbers in GA for a townhall/Johnson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KajineWY6vA

Another Matthews spew re: HC:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2313226/posts?page=1

[reformedliberal]

The payment is the key. This allows an entire session with an MD to be centered on how to make a living will, with the MD being paid, probably a pittance, for his time.

As things stand now, your living will is only valid for 5 years. It must be updated every 5 years to account for changes in your own thinking, your own health status and changes in available medical treatment.

OTOH, and I am not sure how things have changed, but in 1986, I was involved in one of these decisions concerning someone else. They wanted a DNR order. They were obviously mentally competent and relatively young at 39, however, their quality of life as a quadriplegic was the main consideration. Everyone involved in this person's care was interviewed by 3 physicians. The questions included their daily routine, moods, possible overuse of medication, down to what they usually ate and how often. The major impression I came away with was that no one on the medical staff wanted to accept this Do Not Resuscitate order. The patient had already been brought back twice, even though they did not want that to happen. They gave the med staff a total tongue-lashing over this and finally demanded an official DNR order.

The process took several hours to interview everyone, and although there was private insurance, I do not recall seeing it itemized on the final bill.

It is my understanding that the present practice in many hospitals and EMT calls is to resuscitate no matter what. Their job is to save lives. Patient requests for DNR can be ignored if the family wants the person brought back. The med staff will err on the side of life.

It is possible to resuscitate someone who then ends up in a coma and comes out of that coma with new impairments. Imagine being in a position where your life can be saved over and over again, but each time you spend days in a coma and wake up having lost hearing or sight or some other facility.

The problem with law is it is written in the language of lawyers. I have read portions of this bill and the dense, impenetrable language makes it almost impossible to understand by the average person.

There are so many things wrong with this legislation, they can't be counted. But the counseling sessions are not mandated euthanasia, yet. As I read it, the counseling sessions are not mandatory, either. Anyone can write a living will that says unequivocally that they want every possible means used to keep them alive as long as possible.

[668 - Neighbor of the Beast]

And there's an internal logic to your friend's argument. Most Europeans are collectivists. Individuals don't matter. Not only that, individuals must not matter. Once you accept that individuals should dissolve into the collective, one is wrong to resist and live as an example of an alternative. Once you understand that an individual life is merely a debt to society, one who seeks to live independently is embezzling from society's treasury, hoarding what all must share, cheating one's neighbors.

The moral rot of Europe is a feast for the onrushing muslims.

[Dr. Ursus]

I’m sure the father and mother of these pint-sized fascist’s
will be taken care of!

[Tarpon]

Naw, granny gets to choose ... Makes it all better.

[Melchior]

Look to Oregon where the state refused to assist a woman with lung cancer;she was refused pills costing $3,000 a month and was offered the option of sujicide pills instead.

[cmj328]

Nothing in the proposed law says that the consultation can only be initiated by the patient. Nothing.

Nothing requires the patient's signature on the death order. Nothing.

If Isakson is one of those fiscal-obsessed Republicans by name who don't feel any tugs of conscience against euthanizing their way out of deficits, then it wouldn't surprise me that he authored this particular bill.

[driftdiver]

It will be more than control through payment. The govt will punish doctors for providing unauthorized care regardless of who pays for it.

Numerous examples of doctors punished for being too efficient and patients who had the gall to pay for their own medicine.

[Dick Bachert]

Steve,
I got this email the other day and it looks to be a take-off/parody on the Axelrod/White House letter.

Just wondered if others had received one like it.

Dear Friend,

If you’ve been watching the ongoing Health Care circus in Washington, you know that the government Health Care Takeover is a hot topic. The clever NEWSPEAK term now being employed by the Obama/Pelosi/Reid Axis of Evil is “Health Insurance REFORM”— and it’s a LIE. The rumors of death counseling provisions, the plan to ration (read that “DENY”) treatment to the elderly within the proposed over 1,000 page Democrat monstrosity of a bill have only increased as more people come to understand that it is ALL TRUE. Given the dissembling by the elitist/statist Democrats – who have EXEMPTED THEMSELVES from their own legislation – as they routinely do — it’s time to make sure everyone knows the facts about the insecurity and instability to be foisted upon us proles should this thing pass. The politicians will NOT have to stand in those long lines awaiting the rest of us as we hope to get to the front before expiring. THEY will have the finest, most timely medical care OUR money can buy them.

That’s why we’ve launched a new online resource — to help you separate fact from fiction and share the truth about the pending government Health Care Takeover. Here are a few of the reality check videos you can find on the site:

· The ever-cheery CEA Chair Christina Romer describes how this plan will put many small businesses in the crapper.

· Domestic Policy Council Director, the delightful Harmony Himmelman tackles the subject of euthanasia and clearly describes how reform helps families get rid of that troublesome old man or woman how holding down a chair in the family room and must be served meals as he/she doesn’t walk all that well now.

· Chuck “Draft Dodger” Schluter, the White House’s Director of Veterans and Wounded Warrior Policy, clears the air about Veterans Benefits, with emphasis on the new “Vets can provide their OWN health insurance” portion of the plan.

· Jack Kevorkian, M.D., a doctor serving in the White House’s Office of Public Engagement and Disinformation, explains that health care rationing is happening right among the millions of welfare people and illegals now and how reform gives control back to the Democrat political hacks now trying – with a bow (butt not too low) to Barney Frank – to Rahm this down your throats

· Bill “The Budget Buster” Goebbels, M.D., a doctor serving on the National Economic Council, explains how the government Health Care Takeover will be financed by cutting Medicare, Defense, Social Security and several other programs now considered to be unnecessary or too costly by the administration. Dr. Goebbels has just completed a thorough 20 minute audit of the recent stimulus packages and the Cash for Clunkers programs and pronounced them all sound and efficiently run.

There’s more information and a number of online tools you can use to spread the truth among your family, friends and other social networks. Got to the website and see for yourself. Be sure to have an air sickness bag handy before logging on.

The website is at http://standinlinefortreatmentanddie.lol

We knew going into this effort that accomplishing a comprehensive government Health Care Takeover wasn’t going to be easy. Achieving real change never is. The entrenched interests that benefit from stupid and antiquated concepts like patient choice, freedom and the rule of law (the Constitution) use their influence in Washington to try and keep things just as they are.

But don’t be misled. We know the America you knew as a child is no more and it is time to put aside childish things. If we do nothing, millions of older Americans – you know, like those worn out old geezers who landed on or parachuted into Normandy or froze in Korea — will survive what would or should be life ending illnesses and we extra smart folks here in Washington will run out of the funds needed for welfare payments to and health care for those who refuse to work – even if they COULD find work outside government now—and those here illegally. As they vote largely Democrat, we simply couldn’t allow them to go without. As we here in Washington are the only ones with the power to print money, we are the only ones with enough of the stuff to pay for all of this. (Of course, the end-of-life section of the program will cause those costs to shrink as the plan kicks in. The soon-to-be-proposed Soylent Green program will actually provide a revenue stream into the plan. It could become a virtual perpetual motion machine!)

Inflation? Not to worry. Your kids and grandkids can worry about that. (On that topic, when you do decide to pull your own plug, we suggest cremation and scattering as there is a distinct probability that those kids and grandkids would otherwise dig you up and drag your remains around behind one of those “green” cars – if they can find someone with enough dough to buy one.)

That’s the reality.

Americans deserve better. You deserve a health care system that works as well for you as it does for us and the millions of government employees. Well, maybe not THAT good. One that won’t deny you coverage when you need it most (with rationing, there won’t be those disturbing letters denying coverage as you will not be home to get them: You’ll be standing in that line we mentioned earlier or will have died). And there won’t be those crippling out-of-pocket co-pays. I mean, why bother. With the taxes we’ll need to pay for those illegal and welfare Democrats, the pockets of those few of you who survive will be empty anyway. Government Health Care Takeover means the insecurity and instability you deserve. Think of it as chickens – actually buzzards – coming home to roost for voting for us in November.

And speaking of elections, be sure to get out to the polls in 2010 and 12 to vote that straight D ticket. As usual, free busses will be available all election day at all overpasses, welfare housing projects and other sites where illegals/urban outdoorsmen gather. Don’t forget to ask the ACORN folks for that coupon for your pint of wine or 6 pack of Colt 45.

President Barack Obama promised he’d bring change. And if you have any change left, send it to Timmy Turbotax, c/o The U.S. Treasury. Timmy took a beating on selling his house and could use some help. Barack promised to fix our broken, pathetic and miserable lives. You can help deliver that. Visit the site and leave a message as we enjoy a good joke as we all need a good laugh from time to time.

Thank you,

I.M.Wong
Special First Member of the New White House Politbureau and Czar in charge of Health Care Takeover Propaganda

[bankcritic]

Did Medicare pay for it or did another health insurance plan pay for it?