[appoo]

It's an Op-Ed in the Washington Post by Michael Steele, the head of the RNC.

The Democrats' plan will hurt American families, small businesses and health-care providers by raising care costs

Maybe

increasing the deficit

It's been budgeted, yea.

and not allowing patients to keep a doctor or insurance plan of their choice. Furthermore, under the Democrats' plan, senior citizens will pay a steeper price and will have their treatment options reduced or rationed.

Lies.

First, we need to protect Medicare and not cut it in the name of "health-insurance reform." As the president frequently, and correctly, points out, Medicare will go deep into the red in less than a decade. But he and congressional Democrats are planning to raid, not aid, Medicare by cutting $500 billion from the program to fund his health-care experiment.

Newt Gingrich - "Medicare should wither on the Vine"
Dick Armey - "Medicare should be 'no part of the free world.' "

The Republicans wanted Medicare to die, before they heard that Obama was cutting 500B from the program, at which point they were all for Medicare apparently.

Second, we need to prohibit government from getting between seniors and their doctors.

Because promoting Medicare gets the government out of seniors health care!

The government-run health-care experiment that Obama and the Democrats propose will give seniors less power to control their own medical decisions and create government boards that would decide what treatments would or would not be funded. Republicans oppose any new government entity overruling a doctor's decision about how to treat his or her patient.

To be clear, Obama never proposed government run health care. He also never proposed creating a government board that would decide what treatments would or would no be funded. He DID propose a panel of independent health care experts to come up with new ways for health care to be more efficiently delivered.

Third, we need to outlaw any effort to ration health care based on age. Obama has promoted a program of "comparative effectiveness research" that he claims will be used only to study competing medical treatments. But this program could actually lead to government boards rationing treatments based on age. For example, if there are going to be only so many heart surgeries in a given year, the Democrats figure government will get more bang for its buck if more young and middle-aged people get them.

This is almost astonishing to read from the head of the RNC. Comparative effectiveness research is just that, RESEARCH. There was NEVER a proposal that said the government would decide how many freaking heart surgeries there would be in a given year. There was NEVER a proposal that said the government would have ANY kind of power of which treatments you could or could not have. The worst part is that Steele KNOWS this.

Fourth, we need to prevent government from dictating the terms of end-of-life care. Many of the most significant costs of care come in the last six months of a patient's life, and every American household must consider how to treat their loved ones. Obama's government-run health "reform" would pay for seniors' meetings with a doctor to discuss end-of-life care. While nonthreatening at first, something that is quite normal for a family to do becomes troublesome when the government gets involved. Seniors know that government programs that seem benign at first can become anything but. The government should simply butt out of conversations about end-of-life care and leave them to seniors, their families and their doctors.

Non-threatening at first? How the hell could it be threatening at 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or even 5th? Really, getting paid to go see your own doctor about end-of-life if somehow government interference? I like how he leaves the unsaid "euthanize old people"...but pretty much leaves it hanging there. Very nice touch. Oh and Obama never proposed Government Run Health care.

[Claymore]

File this one along with the GOP budget proposal that had no numbers.

Once again the GOP proves it's not interested in governance, just non-stop campaigning.

[bigredfutbol]

Originally Posted by Claymore

Once again the GOP proves it's not interested in governance, just non-stop campaigning.

Bingo--they seem seriously more interested in beating the Democrats than in coming up with sensible policies.

[Crimen y Castigo]

I liked the original version with Sam Waterston.

Hulu - Saturday Night Live: Old Glory

Hulu - Saturday Night Live: Old Glory

[dannytoone]

What a sad and pathetic day when the GOP decides to defend the status quo of a gigantic inefficient government program, just to score some political points against their opponents.

[DJPoopypants]

Originally Posted by bigredfutbol

Bingo--they seem seriously more interested in beating the Democrats than in coming up with sensible policies.

That is quite obvious.

However, to be fair, the democrats are more interested in keeping their corporate donors and big money media companies happy to facilitate re-election (ie, beating the republicans) - than they are at coming up with sensible policies.

Unfortunately, both sides are currently bowing to who they think will get them re-elected, instead of putting country 1st.