Saving money over saving lives :: Political News and commentaries

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November 17, 2009

Saving money over saving lives

Think Obamacare, the left's attack on what conservatives refer to as what equates to "death panel" decisions, and this example of the government deciding to save money versus save lives.

In this particular case I'm not sure that I find much to disagree with on the decision, but it does seem to be a harbinger of what we're going to see as a result of Obama's "Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research Counsel" - the so-called "death panel" that in actuality already exists (was included in the ~~stimulus~~ porkulus bill) in which saving money will most certainly take precedence over saving and preserving elderly lives and the lives of patients with advanced disease. As Stand Up For America points out, "in his common sense discussion on the topic, comparative effectiveness" seems like a pretty harmless council to create. Don't think for a second that the name was chosen randomly or in order to effectively tell us what the panel will do. As is the norm, any government creation is usually given a name that tells you nothing about what that creation actually does, and this time is no different:

[...] "It seems that Daschle's vision for the council that was created in HR1 was modeled after the UK panels that use a cost effectiveness formula, dividing cost by number of years of benefit. That bothers me. I also read on several sites that HR1 has language that supports this type of change. The most common claim was that HR1 changes Medicare from a system of approving based on "safe and effective" and changes it to a cost effectiveness standard set by the Federal Council. None of those claiming this offered a page of the bill to check."

[...] "There simply isn't enough evidence to prove that the path the government is taking, no matter how convoluted, is leading to a group of government lackeys sitting around deciding who will live or die and telling grandma she is out of luck. The evidence just isn't there, despite the fact that some of the players involved (Tom Daschle, Ezekiel Emanuel) are absolutely proponents of rationing care to the elderly."

[...] "I would keep my eyes really open to see if anything more concrete pops up that points to rationing panels in the future. The evidence isn't there. But I trust these 535 hyenas about as much as I trust Michael Vick to pet-sit my puppy."

Looking at that actual language in the bill, I just might be willing to trust Michael Vick more than those "535 hyenas" SUFA speaks of:

... the funding appropriated in this paragraph shall be used to accelerate the development and dissemination of research assessing the comparative effectiveness of health care treatments and strategies, through efforts that: (1) conduct, support, or synthesize research that compares the clinical outcomes, effectiveness, and appropriateness of items, services, and procedures that are used to prevent, diagnose, or treat diseases, disorders, and other health conditions; and (2) encourage the development and use of clinical registries, clinical data networks, and other forms of electronic health data that can be used to generate or obtain outcomes data ...

Posted by Richard at November 17, 2009 8:07 AM

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