Euthanasia Scare Shows a Tough Sell on Health Care

Bloomberg – Heidi Przybyla – 46 minutes ago?
6 (Bloomberg) — Representative Tom Perriello said he was approached by two senior citizens who were trembling with fear. The source of their terror, …

Yeah, I think you can see why I had to read more on that one, huh? It seems that the two senior citizens in question had been given a leaflet that was supposed to be a copy of Obama’s health care plan.  The leaflet is said to have been given to them by some religious group, but the article fails to say which one it was, nor can I locate a copy of said leaflet online.  I would really like to see this thing if anyone knows where it can be viewed.

I find it a bit incredulous that someone would pass out something to the elderly that tells them that the government is going to start euthanizing seniors because of the difficulty of taking care of them. WTF?!!?!??

Okay, first off, let me point people in the right direction, okay?

I tracked the bill down at Thomas – H.R.676 – United States National Health Care Act or the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act (Introduced in House) The link should lead you to the index page for what the bill has in it, if not then go to Thomas.loc.gov and search for H.R. 676 to locate it.

The first thing that I noticed in the bill is Sec. 101 Part B (bold added by me):

(b) Registration- Individuals and families shall receive a United States National Health Insurance Card in the mail, after filling out a United States National Health Insurance application form at a health care provider. Such application form shall be no more than 2 pages long.

Now, correct me if I am wrong, but doesn’t that say that you need to opt in for this program? You are not automatically tossed off your current insurance provider and forced to let the government determine your fate, you pick up paperwork at your doctor’s office and fill out a form (not over 2 pages long) to request to be included in the government’s health care services.

I strongly suggest that people take a bit of time to at least scan the bill before they listen to any of these groups that scream, one way or the other, about what it says. The “they’re euthanizing the elderly!” scare seems to have come from a proposal to allow for people to be reimbursed for a consultation with their doctor about end-of-life treatment and the preparation of living wills. Now, correct me if I am wrong, but… aren’t people that want to talk about such things already talking to their health care providers about those things? What is the problem with a visit for that being a reimbursable expense? And what makes the continued discussion of it by those who want to talk about it an effort by the government to euthanize the elderly?

I have no idea what the health care plan would do for me personally, although I do intend to read it when I get some time to focus on it and sort through what it says, I can tell you that at the moment I have nothing. I’m one of those non-existant ones that I keep hearing about on television, you know the “Oh there aren’t that many uninsured people in America!” ones. I have talked to a few places about getting health insurance and been told “Oh, oops, no, we don’t offer coverage for your age range where you live.  So sorry.” I can’t afford to go on my own, I’m still trying to pay off the last emergency visit to the local walk-in clinic at $10 a month payments. What happens if something serious happens and I end up in the emergency room? Would it not make more sense that people like me, that can go in for a $100 checkup once a year and stay healthy, to be able to afford to do so than to have a serious condition creep up undetected and end up costing hundreds of thousands of dollars in care?

I’m a caregiver.  I would rather prevent something than try to clean up the aftermath of ignoring that it is there. I also would like to throttle the dolts that decided it was a good idea to stand on a street corner telling senior citizens that they are going to be killed in favor of youthful 20-somethings.