There’s been some hoopla lately that the health care bill, making it’s way through Congress now, calls for “death panels” (a moniker coined by opponents of the bill) for Medicare recipients. Now, if a “death panel” were what it sounds like, I obviously understand the problem, but when you actually look at the provision opponents are referring to a “death panels,” I can’t help but think it’s a fantastic idea. The provision referred to actually sets up funding for optional consulting on end-of-life issues (like living wills and advanced care preparations) for Medicare recipients.
My parents have recently been through this with my grandfather. They were burning through money for in-home nurses, electric wheel chairs (and building ramps for them to get in the house), and other medical expenses. On top of it, they had to hire lawyers to work out alot of the end-of-life preparations that make a difficult time at least somewhat smoother to get through. Wouldn’t it have been nice if Medicare could have covered some of that?
The reality is that all of us will die one day. Our hearts will stop beating, our synapses will stop firing and our bodies will start to rot. It’s a fact. Any preparations made in advance for how things should be handled in our final days (or even hours) make things that much easier for us and our loved ones. If you want to call providing the option to protect yourself and your family during your final days a “death panel” then where do I sign up?
The opponents did a masterful job of changing this phrase from its original meaning, at least as far as Palin’s original reference.
She was originally referring to government beaurocrats deciding whether you qualified for a given treatment, much like the British determination of “meaningful years of life”. So if you’re 85, you don’t get the titanium hip because you’re going to die soon anyway. She was saying that, for example, you would be too old to get the very expensive treatment that would prolong your life, hence a “death panel”. The left changed that to be end of life care options, which personally I’m in favor of too, but apparently a bunch of conservatives are against.