"The Death Book"?

FoxNews ^ | Aug. 23, 2009 | Chris Wallace

[Girlene]

Thanks for that update from Jonah Goldberg. That was priceless to watch this morning. Chris Wallace would not let Tammy Duckworth off the hook in her defense that the book was not being used at the VA. It’s merely “under review” I think according to Wallace, instead of being pulled.

Jim Towey who wrote the original piece in the WSJ that exposed that the book had been reinstated under the Obama administration was outstanding in exposing how unseemly the book was and the implications with the current health care reform bill.

Arlen Spector indicated on the same FOX program that he intended to hold Senate hearings on its use. LOL.

[KC_Conspirator]

Holy effing you know what. And just when liberals said they cared about veterans now we learn they dont? (sarcasm)

[nathanbedford]

I never understood how Sarah Palin's wonderfully evocative phrase, "death panels" got conflated with the provisions concerning payment of physicians for end-of-life counseling. Nor have I ever understood why Sarah Palin should not be permitted the same forensic license that everyone else gets when engaging in good old fashioned political polemic.

[Girlene]

Sarah B, have you seen this organization? The MillionMedMarch I ran across it earlier today looking for info on health care reform. It seems one of their big things is tort reform. I know Sarah Palin was advocating this very thing in the last day or two. I'd never heard of the group before.

[floozy22]

"When implemented, the complete lives system produces a priority curve on which individuals aged between roughly 15 and 40 years get the most substantial chance, whereas the youngest and oldest people get chances that are attenuated"

"The Complete Lives System"...has the cheesy ring of an infomercial product.

[devane617]

I could not believe the spokesperson for the VA flat-out lying about the book. Saying it was not on the website...CW looked shocked...

[GraceG]

[Girlene]

LOL. It WAS a “wonderfully evocative phrase”.....nicely worded, Nathan Bedford.

I’m not sure why she hasn’t further explained the concept. Maybe after the “end-of-life counseling” was allegedly pulled from the bill by the Senate, and lauded as a Sarah Palin victory, she decided to leave well enough alone. Either way, the real potential for death panels is intact in the bill and is a cornerstone of the legislation once people are on the “public option”. From what little I’ve been able to understand about some of these committees, I think they will be under the executive branch. Talk about scary.

[Cyropaedia]

So this "deathbook" was authored by a guy who was the "chief of ethics evaluation" at a medical center. Zeke Emanuel is a bioethicist.

Man, these "ethicists" certainly think that everyone has a duty to die.

[jocon307]

“It would be your duty as a loyal citizen to get it, read it and understand it.”

And COMPLY with it.

[Vince Ferrer]

Makes you wonder WHO at the VA is getting paid to write this piece of crap?

"Who is the primary author of this workbook? Dr. Robert Pearlman, chief of ethics evaluation for the center, a man who in 1996 advocated for physician-assisted suicide in Vacco v. Quill before the U.S. Supreme Court and is known for his support of health-care rationing. "

"I was not surprised to learn that the VA panel of experts that sought to update "Your Life, Your Choices" between 2007-2008 did not include any representatives of faith groups or disability rights advocates. And as you might guess, only one organization was listed in the new version as a resource on advance directives: the Hemlock Society (now euphemistically known as "Compassion and Choices")."

Death Book for Veterans

[nathanbedford]

Would the death panels be confined to defining treatment only to those who are in the public option? Would they not be in a position to dictate standards of coverage-which really means standards of treatment-for all insurance carriers?

[eyedigress]

Exactly. The Government option defines what is covered or not. The carriers would be forced to this rule and only the rich could escape this program. The pool of money would fall under government policy.

[Fred Hayek]

“. . . for the children, of course, to save mankind and the planet.”

What they really believe:
“Humanity is a virus infecting the Earth Mother Goddess Gaia”.

[Fred Hayek]

Chris Wallace did an outstanding job this morning on Fox News fleshing out the “Death Book” used by the VA.

Chris’ father Mike Wallace is one who thinks handicapped people have no right to live. I would bet the gatherings of the Wallace family are lots of fun. How does Chris put up with it?

[LA Woman3]

I wonder how the “Vets for Chet” will feel about this!? Hopefully one will bring it up in Saturday's town hall meeting.

[Quix]

Yeah.

I’ve run across that crazy notion, too.

When they trash God, then they make of Nature, God.

[BIGLOOK]

Denial of services is SOP for the VA. Methinks most of their staff are in legal and pencil pushers. This latest simply affirms my suspicions.

My grandfather was a WWI vet.....services denied.

My father, a WWII vet and career Navy....services suspended.

Myself, a VN vet....services not applicable.

That's ok.....I'll never go back there again. Neither will my grandfather or my father.....ever.

[Girlene]

Would the death panels be confined to defining treatment only to those who are in the public option? Would they not be in a position to dictate standards of coverage-which really means standards of treatment-for all insurance carriers?

That is an excellent question, and I am not sure of the answer. The one thing the reform bill sets up is minimum benefit standards that all new private health care plans must offer....otherwise, you must buy the public option (pay the penalties/taxes). From memory, I think the minimum standards have things like no pre-existing conditinos clause, no cost sharing for "preventative" doctor visits, no limitations on maximum benefits to be paid by the insurer, etc. These "minimum benefit standards" will force private health care costs to be a lot more expensive, do not allow a person to get catastrophic insurance only, and basically limit a person or employer's ability to purchase more cost-effective insurance for the dollars.

So if the gov't can "dictate standards of minimum coverage" why couldn't they also "dicate standards of treatment-for all insurance carriers"? Good question.

[FocusNexus]

Healthcare rationing: Real scary by Newt Gingrich

Concerns about government bureaucracies gaining oversight of your treatment are not misplaced. We need reforms, but the answer is not central planning.

“If such rationing occurs, rules will be needed to determine whether to spend federal healthcare dollars on a given individual. What might those rules look like? Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel is a key healthcare advisor to President Obama and the brother of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. He co-wrote an academic article in January exploring the ethical challenges of valuing an individual’s life in the context of allocating medical resources that are very scarce, such as organs or vaccines.

In a 1996 article in another journal, Dr. Emanuel similarly hypothesized that “services provided to individuals who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens are not basic and should not be guaranteed. An obvious example is not guaranteeing health services to patients with dementia.”
“

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-gingrich16-2009aug16,0,310602.story