President Obama Addresses Sarah Palin “Death Panels,” “Wild Representations”

Thank goodness, for such a level-headed, immensely intelligent President of the United States, Barack Obama. Yet, what is wrong with all of these Republicans? Can't they control themselves. Sarah Palin as President would be ridiculous. She can barely compose herself when making statements in regards to health care. Maybe, in one of her hissy fits, she could push the nuke button. Oooops.

There was a lot of talk around the time of Palin's resignation from the governorship of Alaska that she was off to greener pastures as an oil company lobbyist. Maybe those rumors were half right. I think Sarah Palin has become a lobbyist for the health insurance companies and spreading lies about death panels and the like is all part of the job.

I live in the UK, and suffer from a complex heritable connective tissue disorder named Marfan syndrome. In my case, expression is severe -- I present with an ascending aortic aneurysm, levoscoliosis, prominent spur formation, prominent Schmorl's node formation, facet joint arthropathy, disc desiccation (particularly at the L5-S1 region), multilevel annular bulges, severe osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, TMJ, high myopia, increased risk of retinal detachment, bone marrow signal changes indicative of fatty degeneration, bone infarcts above and below both knees, a pectus excavatum, skeletal abnormalities, and other manifestations of this syndrome. I have received, and continue to receive, extensive treatment at the hands of the NHS – and have nothing but praise for this institution. I have never had difficulty obtaining appointments to see the doctor of my choice – to the contrary, I am always seen whenever I need to discuss any issue with my general practitioner. I have received a series of echocardiograms to ensure that the aortic aneurysm has not expanded in size, have undergone ultrasound examinations of my torso to check the status of my descending aorta and vital organs that are impacted by this syndrome (e.g. the liver, heart, and kidneys), and have been seen by numerous specialists. The medications for the treatment of chronic pain would break me were I to have to pay for them myself – the total monthly charge for all medications is roughly £1,400.00 each month. I receive these medications at no charge whatsoever – and my taxes are lower than those that I paid when I lived and worked in the US.

The care I have received has been absolutely outstanding. Never has cost interfered with a treatment decision – the care that I receive is state of the art (I have read about Marfan syndrome extensively and am on cutting edge therapy.

When Sarah Palin talks about “death panels”, she reveals only one thing – that she is pig-ignorant.

There are no “death panels” that decide whether or not to treat elderly patients – this is a flagrant, defamatory invention, cut from whole cloth by those who cannot stand the thought that a socialist system actually beats the American health care system hands down. America may indeed have the best technology in the world – but it most certainly does NOT have the best healthcare system in the world, and those ignorant clowns who insist on making this statement, over and over again (as though it gains credence through sheer force of repetition) simply do not know what the hell they are taking about. America has the best healthcare system in the world if you are well insured or are independently wealthy – if you meet neither of these criteria and are diagnosed as suffering from a lethal disease that can be treated and cured only with aggressive long-term therapy, you are sent home to die. Emergency rooms do not provide “emergency chemotherapy sessions” and although an ER cannot turn a patient away, the hospital can and will attach every asset owned by a sick person who is admitted to the hospital by an ER doctor. Conservatives are fond of whining about “socialized medicine” – I have experienced a system of “socialized medicine” (the NHS is undoubtedly a socialist system) and can only say – LET’S HEAR IT FOR SOCIALIZED MEDICINE!

As for those who keep whining about the President’s birth certificate – GET OVER THE FACT that a man named Barack Hussein Obama, who is black (horrors!) and whose last name sounds like “Osama” beat your neoconservative candidate into the ground – a testament to the utter failure and the toxic legacy of the Bush Administration, which dragged America into a moral sewer in which torture became acceptable and in which America lost her moral compass as a nation that respects the rights of even the worst and most evil of persons. The Bush Administration utterly destroyed America’s foreign policy, which may take years to recover. GET – OVER – IT !!!!

I am repulsed and disgusted by protestors waving placard around that depict President Obama as Adolph Hitler, complete with a moustache, shouting about “socialized medicine” and about how the US healthcare system does not need fixing. Tell that to the 50 million (50 million) persons who lack health insurance in the US, and who live without the protective umbrella of such insurance, always aware of the fact that an unexpected illness can utterly ruin them.

I was recently treated for a corneal ulcer, caused by wearing the wrong type of contact lens for too long. I attended an “eye hospital” and was treated on an outpatient basis. I was given eye drops containing ofloxacillin, and was instructed to apply these to the infected eye every half hour for the first day, then every hour for the second and third days. I saw state of the art ophthalmological equipment, and was seen by experts who then gave me prednisone drops to minimize the scarring that occurs when such ulcers heal after the infection has been eradicated. Again, although the system involved being relatively anonymous (the eye hospital sees literally hundreds of people every day), I received top drawer treatment, and cannot complain about any aspect of my care.

The bottom line is that the NHS works, and works extremely effectively (notwithstanding the paid-for testimony of a disgruntled Member of Parliament who Fox TV managed to dredge up from under a rock somewhere). My father suffered a terrible, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection of the spine in 2005, and spent a total of nine months in the hospital, following which he was sent to a “rehabilitation” hospital where he learned to walk all over again, following which he was sent to a care home until he regained his strength and was able to move into a small flat (apartment). The bill for his three surgeries, his nine month stay in the hospital, his three months of “rehabilitation”, and his care at the care home? -- £0.00.

There are few things that anger me more than being told that it is raining by a person who is pissing on my leg.

PHILIP

I am currently studying for the NLN CNE certificaion exam, this blog contents was recommended as a resource and it has been very helpful in preparation for the exam. It is not only an excellent resource for the exam, but also an excellent resource for the novice nurse educator. For those of us in nursing education for a number of years, this blog is excellent at refreshing us and providing new ideas and innovations in nursing

To all those bringing up the stimulus packages in their arguments:

Don't forget WHY the stimulus was needed. Don't forget WHO's actions--in his disregard for common sense and sound economic policy--resulted in the economic turmoil we're in.

The stimulus packages were not perfect by any means, but they were necessary to avoid an even more cataclysmic outcome. Guess whose fault that was. Hint: think 8 years ago.

Addressing Donna's comments:

1.) First of all, Obama was born in Hawaii, get over it.

2.) In Sarah Palin's response, she goes on to argue that Section 1233 “addresses compassionate goals in disconcerting proximity to fiscal ones...." etc. Let me ask you this: How is private insurance any different in this regard!?

In our current state of affairs, profit IS the bottom line, and there is very little government regulation to say otherwise. That means your insurance can, for the sake of their fiscal goals, decide they will not cover you (say when you need them most) for any loophole they're able to find. Who comes to your aid then?

I am puzzled by all this controversy about Death Panels. It has nothing to do with end-of-life counseling, it's all about killing grannies and ganddads with lack of care. I was personally recruited to be on a Death Panel by the White House. They interviewed me by telephone about my attitude towards putting grandmothers to death. I think I was recruited because of my expertise at death, I suppose. Sarah Palin really blew it when she told the public about the Death Panels. We were supposed to be secret. What can you expect from Sarah Palen anway? She's having a lesbian affair with her personal secretary. They meet at the Anchorage Holiday Inn each Tuesday, Room 683. I swear, this is TRUE!!

If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck....Wake up PEOPLE! I refuse to be a lemming! But it sure looks like a lonely future without all you lemmings! But then again, that scenario might be good. Most people, I guess, didn't listen to Noah either!

HOPE and CHANGE is now HOPELESSNESS and CONFUSION. B.O. is still in Campaign mode, he's not leading anybody.

Well, I agree nobody is forcing me to enroll in the government option. I can keep my current insurance if I like it. Let's think about it for a minute.

The money is not going come from liberals only. the tax man is coming in one form or other. Its not Free. nothing is free. So my options are pay for the government option anyway or pay extra to the private insurance and government option.

Its same thing happening is teh public schools. I pay for public schools through property tax. But I am free to go to the private schools, by paying extra. There is no refund if you don't use the public schools. same with public insurance option.

Look at the cost.

Government run medicare for 47 million Americans at a annual cost of $440 You want to add 45 million to the number and expect its going to be free? I already paying 2.9% of my salary to medicare. It will be doubled to pay for public insurance, directly or indirectly.

Here is Sarah Palin's response to Obama's "Grandma" speech. I think you'll find that SHE is more informed than HE is!

Yesterday President Obama responded to my statement that Democratic health care proposals would lead to rationed care; that the sick, the elderly, and the disabled would suffer the most under such rationing; and that under such a system these “unproductive” members of society could face the prospect of government bureaucrats determining whether they deserve health care.

The President made light of these concerns. He said:

“Let me just be specific about some things that I’ve been hearing lately that we just need to dispose of here. The rumor that’s been circulating a lot lately is this idea that somehow the House of Representatives voted for death panels that will basically pull the plug on grandma because we’ve decided that we don’t, it’s too expensive to let her live anymore....It turns out that I guess this arose out of a provision in one of the House bills that allowed Medicare to reimburse people for consultations about end-of-life care, setting up living wills, the availability of hospice, etc. So the intention of the members of Congress was to give people more information so that they could handle issues of end-of-life care when they’re ready on their own terms. It wasn’t forcing anybody to do anything.” [1]

The provision that President Obama refers to is Section 1233 of HR 3200, entitled “Advance Care Planning Consultation.” [2] With all due respect, it’s misleading for the President to describe this section as an entirely voluntary provision that simply increases the information offered to Medicare recipients. The issue is the context in which that information is provided and the coercive effect these consultations will have in that context.

Section 1233 authorizes advanced care planning consultations for senior citizens on Medicare every five years, and more often “if there is a significant change in the health condition of the individual ... or upon admission to a skilled nursing facility, a long-term care facility... or a hospice program." [3] During those consultations, practitioners must explain “the continuum of end-of-life services and supports available, including palliative care and hospice,” and the government benefits available to pay for such services. [4]

Now put this in context. These consultations are authorized whenever a Medicare recipient’s health changes significantly or when they enter a nursing home, and they are part of a bill whose stated purpose is “to reduce the growth in health care spending.” [5] Is it any wonder that senior citizens might view such consultations as attempts to convince them to help reduce health care costs by accepting minimal end-of-life care? As Charles Lane notes in the Washington Post, Section 1233 “addresses compassionate goals in disconcerting proximity to fiscal ones.... If it’s all about alleviating suffering, emotional or physical, what’s it doing in a measure to “bend the curve” on health-care costs?” [6]

As Lane also points out:

Though not mandatory, as some on the right have claimed, the consultations envisioned in Section 1233 aren’t quite “purely voluntary,” as Rep. Sander M. Levin (D-Mich.) asserts. To me, “purely voluntary” means “not unless the patient requests one.” Section 1233, however, lets doctors initiate the chat and gives them an incentive -- money -- to do so. Indeed, that’s an incentive to insist.

Patients may refuse without penalty, but many will bow to white-coated authority. Once they’re in the meeting, the bill does permit “formulation” of a plug-pulling order right then and there. So when Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) denies that Section 1233 would “place senior citizens in situations where they feel pressured to sign end-of-life directives that they would not otherwise sign,” I don’t think he’s being realistic. [7]

Even columnist Eugene Robinson, a self-described “true believer” who “will almost certainly support” “whatever reform package finally emerges”, agrees that “If the government says it has to control health-care costs and then offers to pay doctors to give advice about hospice care, citizens are not delusional to conclude that the goal is to reduce end-of-life spending.” [8]

So are these usually friendly pundits wrong? Is this all just a “rumor” to be “disposed of”, as President Obama says? Not according to Democratic New York State Senator Ruben Diaz, Chairman of the New York State Senate Aging Committee, who writes:

Section 1233 of House Resolution 3200 puts our senior citizens on a slippery slope and may diminish respect for the inherent dignity of each of their lives.... It is egregious to consider that any senior citizen ... should be placed in a situation where he or she would feel pressured to save the government money by dying a little sooner than he or she otherwise would, be required to be counseled about the supposed benefits of killing oneself, or be encouraged to sign any end of life directives that they would not otherwise sign. [9]

Of course, it’s not just this one provision that presents a problem. My original comments concerned statements made by Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, a health policy advisor to President Obama and the brother of the President’s chief of staff. Dr. Emanuel has written that some medical services should not be guaranteed to those “who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens....An obvious example is not guaranteeing health services to patients with dementia.” [10] Dr. Emanuel has also advocated basing medical decisions on a system which “produces a priority curve on which individuals aged between roughly 15 and 40 years get the most chance, whereas the youngest and oldest people get chances that are attenuated.” [11]

President Obama can try to gloss over the effects of government authorized end-of-life consultations, but the views of one of his top health care advisors are clear enough. It’s all just more evidence that the Democratic legislative proposals will lead to health care rationing, and more evidence that the top-down plans of government bureaucrats will never result in real health care reform.

PS: In my first post, the words "needed" and "without" should have been turned around to say "without needed" medical attention... Sorry bout that all.

Skip? Nobody in this country is needed without medical attention. Hospitals have grants and incentives they give away for the uninsured. Also, hospital staff members will fill out medicare & medicaid forms in order to get a terminally ill patient coverage. Don't let them scam you any further. Please read the bill for yourself and talk to those who HAVE read it before jumping to the defense of a man who has yet to disclose the following to the American people, you included:

The indisputable fact is that Obama has not released his birth certificate, which the state of Hawaii issues for all citizens born there. The AP implies that Obama has not released a "long version of his birth certificate." But Obama has never released either a long or short version of his birth certificate.

Instead, Obama's campaign last year released only his Certification of Live Birth from the state of Hawaii, which is a document that offers a summarized version of the birth certificate. EVEN STATE RESIDENTS BORN OUTSIDE THE U.S. CAN GET ONE. Hawaii didn't become a U.S. State until 1956 also.

During the 2008 presidential campaign, GOP nominee Sen. John McCain quickly released his birth certificate when liberal bloggers raised questions about his eligibility to be president. McCain was born at a military hospital in Panama.

Obama likewise could put the matter to rest by releasing his actual birth certificate, which would show, among other things, the place of his birth and the doctor who performed the birth procedure.

This information is not provided on the Certification of Live Birth.

As it stands, Obama is the only president in history whose birthplace is unknown to the public – a fact that would be stated on the actual birth certificate. Interestingly, his family has mentioned two different hospitals in Hawaii as the place of birth.

Obama’s refusal to release his birth certificate does mean that Obama remains one of America’s most mysterious and opaque presidents ever.

Obama, for example, has not released many other documents regarding his public and private life.

Many of these documents were sought by reporters, who easily acquiesced when Obama said he would not release them – though most presidential candidates release them as a perfunctory matter.

Among the key documents that Obama continues to shield from the public:

• Obama released just one brief document detailing his personal health. McCain, on the other hand, released what he said was his complete medical file, totaling more than 1,500 pages.

• Obama refused to offer his official papers as a state legislator in Illinois. Nor did he produce correspondence, such as his schedules of appointments or letters from lobbyists, from his days in the Illinois state Senate.

• Obama did not release his client list as an attorney or his billing records. He maintained that he performed only a few hours of legal work for a nonprofit organization with ties to Tony Rezko, the Chicago businessman convicted of fraud in June 2008 but did not release billing records that would prove this assertion.

• Obama ignored requests for his records from Occidental College, where he studied for two years before transferring to Columbia University.

• Obama’s campaign refused to give Columbia, where he earned an undergraduate degree in political science, permission to release his transcripts. Former President George W. Bush and presidential contenders Al Gore and John Kerry all released their college transcripts.

• Obama did not agree to the release of his application to the Illinois State Bar, which would have cleared up intermittent allegations that his application may have been inaccurate.

• Obama did not release records from his time at Harvard Law School.

• During the presidential campaign, McCain’s campaign released a full list of all online donors. Obama’s campaign still has not released the names of those who donated at least one-third of the $750 million he raised.

Ironically, Obama accused the Bush White House of being "one of the most secretive administrations in our history," and chided then-Sen. Hillary Clinton for not releasing her White House schedules.

How ANYONE can trust this man after shoving the most jam-packed ear-marked bill (stimulus)ever conceived of in U.S. History and then turn around and tell the public, "There were no earmarks in the Stimulus Package", along with the Cap and Trade bill which only helps in bankrupting America, is beyond me. I can only surmise this man to be as influential as Jim Jones and possibly as deadly. Check your powers of discernment before you drink Obama's Koolaid!

Wasn't it Obama that said "Maybe she should take the pain pill instead" That is his direct quote in reference to an elderly lady needing a pace maker, just a month ago.

Now, who is rationing care? Obama is!

If Obama were to tell the truth, he wouldn't need a memory. All he has now is his tele-prompter to remind him what to say. And those comments are provided directly from his Chicago side-kicks.

The Tenth Amendment:
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

The Constitution does not delegate to the US government the power to create and run an insurance company. A postal system, yes. An insurance company, no. It's that simple. A state may do so. An Individual may do so. The US government may not.

Wake up America; get your head out of the sand, then walk a mile in my shoes. When I was laid off from my job of over 21 years of devoted service more than 22 months ago, no one was speaking up for me and many businesses were jerking me around or putting the screws to me. While waiting for COBRA to send me info [which is a government requirement], I contacted my current insurance company [UHC]. Their CSR told me that I could pay upfront to submit my application but because of my height/weight proportions and current health conditions it’s unlikely I would be accepted, have to pay much more, and/or the conditions could be excluded for coverage and this was from the insurance company I have had as far back as I can remember.

As for paying the full cost of my employer’s insurance plan under COBRA, I had no other options as my medications exceeded it. Also, in the State of Florida unfortunately unemployment is capped at $275 a week [less taxes] and the cost for my insurance under COBRA was over $500 a month; that doesn’t leave much left for everything else. With not wanting to lose my home, I tapped into my retirement [which is gone now] and I still owe the IRS about $7000 just for last year alone. Luckily, now that COBRA has ran out, my fiancé was able to add me under his policy, but he is about to be laid off as well.

Americans are better off now that the President & the Government have stepped in to insure businesses and insurance companies do not do what has happened to me. God Bless them and they have my full support.

IT'S ONLY WHEN I DON'T HAVE CHOICES THAT I AM POWERLESS. For years, I have been powerless over the insurance companies that I work to pay, without even the benefit of getting a mamogram. Something that is sooo simple and preventive. I find myself powerless, when my Primary Physician tells me that "she" will have to get "permission" from the Insurance company to refer me to a "specialist" for my eyes. Some of us are already powerless and don't even know it.

Take the Blue Pill....... keep what you like, your beloved Healthcare.

Thanks, MR. PRESIDENT for saving me from the greedy Health Insurance Companies and their big money Lobbyist, all ran by the right wing. I as an American deserves Affordable Healthcare. I as an American pays my dues. I as an American pays my taxes. I as an American is worthy of living, and I as an American can no longer pay for WARS, injust wars, and live sickly. I as an American does not deserve to work for years and years, and die broke, leaving my children and grandchildren nothing but Healthcare Bills to the greedy. I as an American Has the Right to decide my End of Life wishes, (or refuse)and not have the Republicans or Democrats decide it for me (Florida), tearing my family apart at my end. I as an American does not call my President a Nazi, Hitler or any of the Offensive names that means "terror" at best. I as an American can debate, and be disagreeable without violence and "bullying". I as an American can be proud that our fore fathers and Constitution says all men are created equally, and my fellow Americans does not "bred" hatred of an African-American President due to his 'race'.

er, chief of staff