Death Panels Already In Operation

Do you remember back during the discussion on Obamacare when Sarah Palin said that it would lead to death panels? The supporters of the government takeover of health care went nuts. The said there absolutely would not be any death panels, Sarah was an idiot and had no idea what she was talking about, how could she be so stupid, etc., etc., etc.

I have news: The death panels are already here.

There is a new drug out for the treatment of advance prostate cancer. It has been shown to increase life by an average of four months in such patients. But, the drug is expensive; the treatment for the four months costs about $100,000, or $25,000 per month.

A Medicare panel is deciding whether or not Medicare will cover the use of this drug.

Now, $25,000 per month is expensive. A person in that situation, however, might think it was worth it. But the decision of whether such patients get to live for four additional months is not going to be made by the patient and his family, or the patient and his doctor, or even the patient and some evil insurance company. No, this decision is being made by a bunch of nameless, faceless, unaccountable bureaucrats buried deep in the Medicare labyrinth. A death panel, in other words.

Just try to get in touch with them to express your opinion, and see how far you get.

The death panels are already here.