Santorum: Romney and Obama Both Created 'Death Panels'
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum on Monday asserted that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was "uniquely unqualified" for the GOP nomination because of the similarities between health care laws in Massachusetts and President Barack Obama's health care reforms, including the repeatedly debunked claim that "death panels" would ration care to seniors.
Speaking at a ballroom across the street from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Santorum pointed to a report (PDF) from the the non-partisan organization Families USA that found at least 15 major similarities between Obama's Affordable Care Act and the reforms Romney enacted in Massachusetts.
"Both create government panels to dictate quality and cost containment," Santorum explained. "Some of you may be familiar with the Independent Payment Advisory Board -- which is a board separate from Congress, independent of Congress -- that President Obama created to control health care costs. How? By cutting reimbursements to doctors and hospitals under the Medicare program. Well, Gov. Romney has a similar program called the Council on Health Quality and Costs."
"Some people refer to these types of boards as death panels," he added. "Why? Because they ultimately decide to ration care to those procedures and people because they don't believe these procedures are effective in providing care, that the utilization isn't worth the costs."
"So, again, you have government making decisions and rationing and apportioning care based on research that shows what outcomes are dictated by the research that's out there."
In 2009, Politifact named "death panels," a term thought to have been first used by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), as their "Lie of the Year."
Back with the death panels? What a desperate little fool Ricky is.
is intended to be a factual statement
They have discredited themselves as an independent fact-checking organization by concerning themselves with "balance" so as not to appear too "liberal". Lies are lies and Republicans and conservatives tell WAY more than Democrats and progressives do. Politifact is scared of being called "liberal" by calling a spade, a spade. They have become a fraudulent organization as a result. Please stop legitimizing them.
It doesn't surprise me that he would go all the way back to use that phrase, he is in many ways such an outdated candidate. He's still wondering around in the land of cavemen riding dinosaurs. He might have made a good candidate in the dark ages. His shelf life expired a long time ago which makes all his ideas so stale.
I do think he is more sincere in his thoughts that the others are but that doesn't make his thoughts sane.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
..Frothy Mixture wants the true definition of a death panel, it's what you call 2 or more people who sit down to brain-storm Frothy Mixture's newest campaign strategy.
Now, that's the core definition of a death panel.
When Fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in excess body fat & carrying a misspelled sign.
Uh, Ricky? I faced a corporate Insurance company "Death Panel" YEARS before RomneyCare or ObamaCare struck pen to paper.
* There are two types of Republicans: millionaires and suckers.
"Mugsy's Rap Sheet": Recording history for those who seek to rewrite it.
Yeah, but somebody was making money off of deciding who would live or die, so that was a good thing.
between government death panels and private death panels. the private death panels have a financial incentive to offer death. which is what we have right now anyway.
When he actually explains what 'death panels' are they sound like a pretty good idea. The government panel looks at scientific and medical research to decide which treatments result in positive outcomes, and which are useless, and they decide not to pay for useless ones.
Yeah, what's so awful about "rationing" procedures that are ineffective?
He also mentions "utilization that isn't worth the cost." It's not entirely clear what he means, but my guess would be that it refers to a cost/benefit analysis that determines that it isn't worth it to pay $200,000 to add 3 months onto your life. Or that it isn't worth it to pay for a transplant for you that has a 3% chance of saving your life.
These kinds of probability analyses are unfortunately necessary in a world where money and transplant-suitable organs are not unlimited in supply. Private insurance companies have already worked this out and already know what they are and are not willing to cover.
It is unclear to me why a government utilization review of this nature would be diabolical, especially since these decisions are made already, today, every day, by private insurance. It has to be done, it's unavoidable, and private insurance has a greater incentive to err on the side of no coverage than government would.
This is good news for
Susan G KomenJohn McCaiin.It's almost as if this republican believes his own propaganda bullshit, but he's really just acting - in bad faith.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
This from one the Assholes who are out to destroy social security , medicare and medicaid .
"The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all."
Shorter Ol' Frothy Mix: "Only a panel trying to maximize PROFITS should be able to decide which treatments they'll pay for. Free Market Jeebus demands it!"
"Santorum: Romney and Obama Both Created 'Death Panels'"
So in response he has created "Life Pits®", where those born may
reside in total misery until the sweet release only death can bring.
Life Pits!
I live in Massachusetts. I've yet to be called in by the Massachusetts Death Panel. Neither has my grandmothers.
if there were these death panels, and you are so sure they exist, then there must have been people serving on them. Please supply the names of the people on the death panels instituted by Governor Game Show Host. Three names will do. Here's a form you can fill out. Put the names on it and send it to me, at the address below:
Governor Game Show Host's Death Panelists:
1.____________________________
2.____________________________
3.____________________________
4.____________________________
5.____________________________
Ms. Tweak R. Belle
4010 Rhode Island School of Design Terrace
Ukaiphah, CA 90210
It's called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.
-George Carlin
credibility and should not be used as a source for anything on these pages. Unless, of course, the article concerns asswipes, and the buttmunchers at Politifact fill that role nicely.
"Trust no one, Mr. Mulder." - Well-Manicured Man
Rick Perry killing baby Sun Hudson against the mother's wishes.
"Santorum: Romney and Obama Both Created 'Death Panels'"
So in response he has created "Life Pits®", where those born may
reside in total misery until the sweet release only death can bring.
Life Pits!
I know the idea behind making a lie the truth is to constantly repeat the lie over-and-over again. But this particular lie is not going anywhere and is certainly not helping mindless idiots like In-Santorum. The real death panels are the insurance companies that can decide to let you linger and die if your life-saving treatment will cost them too much money. But as the insane one is most likely getting payoffs from the insurance racket, he will lie about the death panels cooked up by another idiot, the quiter of Alaska herself.
When angry, count four, when very angry, swear.
-Mark Twain-
Did I just hear Mr. Shitforbrains pronounce analysis anal-ysis?
If not now, when?
Um, outlawing abortion would be rationing and dictating health care.
Dumbass.
The good new is
Politifact named "death panels."
The bad news is
Politifact named "death panels,"as their "Lie of the Year."
Yet pharmaceutical boards that set the prices of life saving medicines beyond what many people can afford, keeping in mind we are not talking profit margins of 5% or 10% but 50%, 100%, 1000% and beyond.
So how is that board room not a death panel, why because it's private and about unlimited greed or because they are paying Santorum to say so.
So why can't we all get in on the act, fire brigades when they extend that ladder into a burning building, why can't the fire fighter demand an unlimited fee to get on the ladder, pay of burn.
Police officer when they can to a bank robbery, why can't they make a demand for an unlimited reward from the bank to stop the robbery, pay up or we did not see a thing.
Speaking about health issues, if there are no limit on drug prices, why should there be limits on ambulance drivers, when you heart attack is in full swing why can't ambulance drivers demand the deeds to your house or leave you to die on your kitchen floor.
If drug companies can extort unlimited prices on life saving drugs, why can't every one else do exactly the same.
"Some people refer to these types of boards as death panels," "Why?"
And some people refer to you as Frothy. Why?
My father had a stroke a few months after he turned 80. He was in the ICU in a Florida hospital for about 10 days. Then without logical or clear explanation from the hospital staff, one morning dad was moved out of the ICU and into the general population. When we asked why he was moved (because the move simply did not make sense to us, as dad did not seem to have improved much) we were told that dad's doctor had ordered the move. (Once dad entered the hospital, a "hospitalist" had taken over the case as dad's dr. - this was not dad's regular, primary-care dr.)
Once dad was moved out of ICU, he quickly deteriorated and died within 36 hours. What's worse, the nurses on the floor where dad was moved to ignored him and his needs - as though they knew he was a dead man walking, so why should they give a damn.
There is often something with medical people that you know when they are not telling you everything. We felt that's what was going on when dad was moved out of the ICU. The move just did not make sense. In retrospect, I believe a utilization review (UR) was behind the move - and that some actuarial had decided that the outcome was not worth the cost, especially considering stroke-survival rates relative to age, and because of dad's other medical issues (which were typical issues for someone his age) that were costing his insurance co. money.
We, as dad's family, should have been told that his insurance policy required a UR after X days in an ICU, and that a UR was the reason the staff moved dad out of the ICU. And we should have been given an option to keep him in the ICU and find a way to pay the cost ourselves. That conversation never occurred. Everything was done as though it were a done deal, a fait accompli.
My father's death was a horrible experience that is more painful now than at the time it happened. That's because I have since learned about the already-present, legally-sanctioned death panels of UR. UR death panels exist because in a contest between capital and giving an old man a fighting chance to survive an incident and have more years with his family, money trumps life.
Read this for more information: http://jillianbarclay.hubpages.com/hub/So-You...
This is not usually done without consulting with the family. I know this as I am a doctor. If the patient has no chance of survival, then care may be withdrawn with the families' consent. This does not constitute a death panel.
He will not win.
NOBODY 2012
Seeing the word "thought" and Sarah Palin in the last sentence.
And so should any loser who tries to get away with destructive lies like this.
One of the items Obama put forth was a plan for each medical field to identify just five procedures done within that discipline that actually have no proven beneficial medical gain for the patient, such as performing MRIs on someone complaining of back pain. Many doctors don't have the latest research indicating which procedures have proven ineffective. The goal of these independent panels is to reduce medical costs by eliminating money spent on procedures that don't work. That's only good business. The Republicans constantly talk about running the government like a business, and any successful business is going to identify useless expenses and quit putting money into them. This independent panel approach makes great sense; identify useless procedures and educate the doctors on these procedures. Mighty smart in my book.
Workin' Joe
A government employee with no vested interest in the bottom line or some insurance company stooge who gets a $100,000 bonus for every tenth of a cent per share he adds to the stockholders' dividends?
Some years ago, I was having symptoms which a friend (who is married to an epileptic) told me she thought could be a form of seizure. I asked my doctor if I could be tested. He put through the request, but it was turned down due to expense. A couple months later, I had a seizure while driving and killed a pedestrian. All because of a cost-based decistion by a goddam private-sector profit-hungry bureaucrat. How's that for a death panel Mister Brown and Frothy?
Him and other Republicans don't tell you that the real death panels are the Ins. Co. My sister had a rare cancer and the Ins. Co. would not give her certain test because of the fact they decided there was not enough research on her cancer yet.So if you do not do these test how will they ever do the research? Ins.Co. are the death panels!
Irish Girl
I was just thinking the same thing. The insurance companies are the ones denying treatment, medications, etc. They dictate if you can undergo certain tests, which doctors you can go to, etc.
when they are not about generating profit
as such,
corporate death panels are apparently not to be discussed
can you forward me a list of the idiots who provide you with money to go around the nation actin' the fool? I sure would like to do something like that 'cause I'm retired and don't have enough dough to afford a nifty vacation like you're having.
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