In order to make Obamacare a perfect copy of England's National Health Service, the president recently appointed Dr. Donald Berwick to preside over Medicare and Medicaid. Berwick, an enthusiastic proponent of wealth distribution, is also quoted as saying "I'm romantic about the NHS. I love it. She is such a seductress."
Which is why it's both ironic and frightening that the U.K. has just announced that it will soon be slashing and rationing even basic medical services - especially for the elderly and dying - because their healthcare system is economically unsustainable. Among the money-saying changes:
• Reduction in hip and knee replacements for the elderly.
• Reduction in cataract surgery, orthopedic surgery, and over 50 other common procedures.
• Slash care for the terminally ill, and offer them no pain management services on evenings or weekends.
• Close nursing homes for the elderly.
• Reduce treatment for the mentally ill, and penalize doctors who refer such patients.
• Reduce medical staff and number of hospital beds.
• Send patients home to die.
One expert is appalled that the revised healthcare plans "attempt to save money by leaving people in pain," and declared that it is “incredibly cruel to draw up savings plans based on denying care to the dying."
What's that, Dr. Berwick? There are Death Panels in your beloved National Health Service?
Apparently the seductress is also an executioner.
Update 4/30/2011
Today's cartoon from the vault offers a tip of the hat to jolly olde England on the heels of the Royal Wedding and reminds us that even though the United States lacks a monarchy, Obamacare promises to give us all a Royal Screwing.
Besides the ubiquitous waivers that the alleged president (we'll continue calling him that despite the birth certificate, as we're still not 100% satisfied that Hawaii is a real state) has handed out to political cronies and lobbyist-connected businesses, the Obama administration has just okayed $6.7 billion in temporary payments to Medicare Advantage plans...even though Obamacare specifically seeks to eliminate those plans. But why?
The answer is that if those very popular plans are ended, as Obamacare demands, senior citizens will get angry and show their resentment at the polls. So by artificially keeping those programs alive, Mr. Obama gets another 2 years (or, God help us, 6 years) to get Obamacare so deeply ingrained in our system that it will be impossible to remove.
At which point, seniors with serious medical conditions will be given a jolly "pip-pip, cheerio" from our UK-style health system as they're sent home to die.
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