Would Obamacare spell the end for Stephen Hawking?
As a member of the California Chapter of Americans for Prosperity I am providing the following report from national President Tim Phillips which addresses “end of life privacy and decision making” as spelled out on page 425 of the House Bill aka Obamacare.
Does Obamacare make Americans “Feel Guilty for Wanting to Live?”
“Dear lawrence, It happened last week in the small town of Gate City, Virginia. Your Americans for Prosperity team was wrapping up a Patients First bus tour event opposing the Obama/Pelosi health care takeover. Out of the corner of my eye I saw an elderly lady struggle to her feet. She gestured toward me and I walked over to her. She was stooped from osteoporosis. She looked up into my eyes and said… “It makes me feel guilty for wanting to live.”
You see, we had just detailed the “end of life” mandatory counseling provision of the Obama/Pelosi health care takeover for the crowd. Dr. Larry Hunter had just explained that on page 425 and 426 the House bill states that if you are a Medicare recipient you will receive counseling to learn about “end of life” options, including hospice and palliative care.This has seniors worried. End-of-life decisions are intensely personal, and most Americans agree that they should be discussed with your family and your doctor. But do we need a government mandate for that?
If the government moves to control our health care dollars – by taxing us more to pay for government-run care – then the government will have its say in how those dollars are spent and which patients get the benefits.
No American should ever “feel guilty for wanting to live.” That sweet elderly lady in Gate City, Virginia is someone’s mother, someone’s grandmother, someone’s wife. And, you and I should pledge today that on our watch she – and every other senior – will make end-of-life decisions with their family members and personal doctors, free of government intrusion.
You’ve been active with Americans for Prosperity for some time now.”
Note: This was followed by a request for financial support.
As this is a blog story I am removing that part of the Press Release.
However, anyone wishing to get more information on AFP or to support Americans For Prosperity efforts can simply go to our web site as provided below:
http://www.americansforprosperity.org
Page 425 reads:
1 (FF) advance care planning consultation (as
2 defined in subsection (hhh)(1));”; and
3 (B) by adding at the end the following new
4 subsection:
5 Advance Care Planning Consultation
6 (hhh)(1) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), the
7 term `advance care planning consultation’ means a con-
8 sultation between the individual and a practitioner de-
9 scribed in paragraph (2) regarding advance care planning,
10 if, subject to paragraph (3), the individual involved has
11 not had such a consultation within the last 5 years. Such
12 consultation shall include the following:
13 (A) An explanation by the practitioner of ad-
14 vance care planning, including key questions and
15 considerations, important steps, and suggested peo-
16 ple to talk to.
17 (B) An explanation by the practitioner of ad-
18 vance directives, including living wills and durable
19 powers of attorney, and their uses.
20 (C) An explanation by the practitioner of the
21 role and responsibilities of a health care proxy.
22 (D) The provision by the practitioner of a list
23 of national and State-specific resources to assist con-
24 sumers and their families with advance care plan-
25 ning, including the national toll-free hotline, the ad-
Signed, Larry Gilbert, member, AFP
Larry, you just proved that all the scare tactics about “socialized” healthcare is just that, scare tactics.
Dr. Hawking obviously gets very good care, by what you scaremongers like to use as a bad example of a government-run healthcare system, namely the British healthcare system.
So, stop your irresponsible scaremongering already.
Hi Joe.
when I get some time I will read the 1,000 pages. Have you read any of tyhe one size fits all plan?
#2 Larry,
Isn’t Medicare a “one size fits all” government sponsored health care plan for seniors? Since you receive Medicare benefits maybe you could enlighten the rest of us as to how it works.
*Only in right-wing, bat-sh*t crazy land does Living-Will counseling (which EVERYONE should have) end up as a plot to kill seniors. You know better than this Larry, this is just the proverbial throwing of crap-on-the-wall.
Larry,
You’re looking like a fringe Birther. Please get your facts straight and quit trying to scare people off.
YOU get excellent health care benefits thru medicare. ACTUAL WORKING PEOPLE and their families want the same. Quit being the voice for the elitists and FOR PROFIT ripoff corporations like big health care insurance companies that award up to 1.7 billion dollars for golden parachutes.
Fight the BS, people: Check out the health care facts here:
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2009/08/web_wars_on_hea.html
Red. You are under the spell of Obama. Let me know when you awaken.
Larry,
Interesting that you don’t address my point.
If Dr. Hawking can get very good health care under the British health car system, a government-sponsored “one size fits all” as you claim, it obviously is a good system.
So, you shot yourself in your own foot with this post of yours…
Next time, think before you post some scaremongering BS.
#3 Anonster,
Medicare isn’t a one-size fits all program – its a single payer plan. Enrollees can select an individual doctor or go with an insurance company plan such as Aetna, Blue Shield, SCAN or an HMO like Kaiser – both for profit an non-profit groups that enroll employees of companies selecting their plan. What changes is that instead of your company paying the plan sponsor the government pays them.
All these plans have different benefits, lists of doctors, plan hospitals, etc. so health care is already rationed to some extent. When I need treatment I don’t ask some company or govt bureaucrat who to see – I start with a medical practitioner. Its smart to select your plan with your personal situation in mind as they aren’t all the same.
Yes and the current progran in place does the same thing. We where provided by medicare all of these options and provided a hospise adviser at medicare and VA expense, for both of my parents.
If it is not in current law this section does nothing but codify current practices, that where approved under the republican medicare reform that seemed to help drug compies a lot more than patients.
End of Care Counseling myth has been officially debunked even on the urban legend website, Snopes.com. Please be responsible about this and stop the scare tactics.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/euthanasia.asp
#7
Thanks for the information, Medicare (and single-payer) sounds pretty good.
Why then does Larry-shhhh-I’m-on-medicare-Gilbert continually fear-monger about government sponsored health care?
#10:
Larry if fear-mongering because his ideology has gotten the better of him.
He is an engineer, at least he claims to be.
But engineers accept the facts, and don’t bend and twist facts to fit their ideological misconceptions.
How disappointing that Larry has betrayed his profession.
Lets see, if we can put things in perspective, sorry larry i’m no engineer, but, here i go:
US post office= Crap
DMV=Crap
vet hospitals=Crap
Us congress=Crap
48 states= In the crapper
NO MONEY=Crap!
China are friend=Crap no!
I suppose you don’t need an engineering degree, to figure out that if all the above is crap, then maybe National Health Care might be “crap”, too!
Use your bloody common sense!
O i forgot my personal favourite: PUBLIC SCHOOLS!
#13: I assume you went to school in Ireland? Was that a public school???
If yes, you obviously got a crappy education, right? And with that, your opinion is obviously crap. Case closed.
US post office= Crap
DMV=Crap
Michelle, please explain to me exactly why you think the post office and DMV = crap
You mean the post office that has had to increase postage at over 3 times that of inflation in the last 6 years and is still closing the doors on many locations? And please go to the DMV to get anything done, then tell me it is not crap. By the way my local DMV is closing and having to merge because of too few staff to support the need. Where will the “need” go? Just a thought.
I just got my driver’s licence renewed in under 20 minutes at the DMV. I can re-register my cars on the internet in 5 minutes…whats your problem?
The US Post office is the best in the world. For .42 you can send something from Florida to Alaska and millions of items are moved every day. Being honest, what percentage of letters that you mail don’t reach their destination?
It’s best if facts come before opinions.
When is the last time you sent mail with a 42 cent stamp on it? If it was since May of 2009 the receiver of your leader may have had to fork a 2 cent bill to accept your letter! (Nice ‘facts’)
Also, did you miss the news of the PO closing many offices nationwide?
Yes, the online DMV is a nice, even though it was way behind the times in getting going.
The major point is that so many government run agencies struggle and they think that they can majically run health insurance for the entire nation.