
.
The politics of fear roars on. Republican Rep. Verginia Foxx on the House floor…
The Republican [health] plan would “make sure we bring down the cost of health care for all Americans and that ensures affordable access for all Americans and is pro-life because it will not put seniors in a position of being put to death by their government.”
And here’s conservative Betsy McCaughey, chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Death…
“Congress would make it mandatory — absolutely require — that every five years people in Medicare have a required counseling session that will tell them how to end their life sooner.”
Politifact gave this one a ‘Pants on Fire’ rating. The House bill actually says…
“such consultation shall include the following: An explanation by the practitioner of advance care planning, including key questions and considerations, important steps, and suggested people to talk to; an explanation by the practitioner of advance directives, including living wills and durable powers of attorney, and their uses; an explanation by the practitioner of the role and responsibilities of a health care proxy.”
Medicare will cover one session every five years, the legislation states. If a patient becomes very ill in the interim, Medicare will cover additional sessions.
Jon Keyserling, general counsel and vice president of public policy for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, which supports the provision, said the bill doesn’t encourage seniors to end their lives, it just allows some important counseling for decisions that take time and consideration.
“These are very serious conversations,” he said. “It needs to be an informative conversation from the medical side and it needs to be thought about carefully by the patient and their families.”
Leave it to Republicans to take an intelligent and compassionate provision and twist it to the extent of claiming that the government wants “seniors in a position of being put to death.” Fear over truth triumphs once more.
My mom would not have liked these people.
___
To receive email notifications of new posts from MarioPiperniDotCom, click on Subscribe.
.