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Beware of false info in healthcare debateTue, 08/04/2009 - 4:38pm
By: Letters to the ...
There has been a lot of false information circulating about the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, and the media has not done a great job with sorting truth from fiction. The letter in The Citizen from Laura Lunsford last week was a good example. Ms. Lunsford’s letter is full of incorrect statements, most of which are designed to scare people away from the plan. For example, she writes that the plan will “cut cost to Medicare by denying care to the elderly, require them to attend ‘counseling sessions’ every five years regarding ‘alternatives for end-of-life care,’ and perhaps pressure them to end their lives earlier than God intended.” This is simply false. There is no requirement that anyone attend any counseling sessions. According to an AARP press release, “What the bill does is let physicians get paid by Medicare for counseling people about things like advance directives, living wills, durable powers of attorney, hospice care and other steps people can take to make sure their wishes are known and followed. It’s entirely up to the doctor and patient whether this counseling takes place, and completely up to the patients whether they take steps based on the counseling to put their end-of-life wishes into legal documents.” Ms. Lunsford also states that “I can’t emphasize this enough: the government will decide what treatments our parents, grandparents, and anyone else who becomes ill will receive.” First of all, as with the current system, you will be able to receive whatever treatment you want, if you are willing to pay out of pocket for it. The issue here is what will be paid for by your healthcare coverage. These decisions are currently made by insurance companies, and experience has shown that they do not always represent the patients’ best interests. Basic healthcare should be available to all Americans. This does not mean that the all Americans are entitled to have any healthcare service they want without paying for it. She also states that we should address the fraud, waste and abuse that exists today in our healthcare system. Given that this is the primary focus of the legislation, you would think she would be more supportive of the plan. Ironically, as Ms. Lunsford rails against any form of government involvement in healthcare she states, “Medicare has allowed people to live to a ripe old age, and to have spirit to boot. If President Obama has his way this will all be undone.” Does she realize that Medicare is a government run healthcare program? And yes, Medicare has allowed people in the United States to live to a ripe old age. However, we do not live, on average, to be as old as those in Canada. Life expectancy in Canada is 80, compared to 78 in the U.S. And, they spend far less per capita on health care then we do. Ms. Lunsford paints a dismal picture of the Canadian healthcare system that I have heard before. Of course, it is not from Canadians that I have heard this dismal picture painted – most Canadians I have asked seem to be happy with their healthcare. Ed Outlaw Peachtree City, Ga. login to post comments
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