Time Magazine - Grassley funded end-of-life counseling in 2003 medicare bill

[emulatorloo]

I got the link from this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6302750


Original Piece:

http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/08/13/oh-those-death-panels/

Oh, Those Death Panels

Posted by AMY SULLIVAN Thursday, August 13, 2009 at 10:14 pm
106 Comments • Trackback (9)

You would think that if Republicans wanted to totally mischaracterize a health care provision and demagogue it like nobody's business, they would at least pick something that the vast majority of them hadn't already voted for just a few years earlier. Because that's not just shameless, it's stupid.

Yes, that's right. Remember the 2003 Medicare prescription drug bill, the one that passed with the votes of 204 GOP House members and 42 GOP Senators? Anyone want to guess what it provided funding for? Did you say counseling for end-of-life issues and care? Ding ding ding!!

Let's go to the bill text, shall we? "The covered services are: evaluating the beneficiary's need for pain and symptom management, including the individual's need for hospice care; counseling the beneficiary with respect to end-of-life issues and care options, and advising the beneficiary regarding advanced care planning." The only difference between the 2003 provision and the infamous Section 1233 that threatens the very future and moral sanctity of the Republic is that the first applied only to terminally ill patients. Section 1233 would expand funding so that people could voluntarily receive counseling before they become terminally ill.

So either Republicans were for death panels in 2003 before turning against them now--or they're lying about end-of-life counseling in order to frighten the bejeezus out of their fellow citizens and defeat health reform by any means necessary. Which is it, Mr. Grassley ("Yea," 2003)?


CALL HIM

[rurallib]

1. I am really beginning to think Chuck is losing it

Even grandson Pat voted for end of life counseling in the Iowa legislature.

[emulatorloo]

2. I think he is playing to the kooks that vote in Republican Primaries. That is the only thing I can

can come up with that seems like a rational explanation.

[iowavet]

3. Check out the Bob Krause for US Senate web site

Here is Bob Krause's web site. It has lots of issue statements, videos, etc. Bob Krause will make a fantastic US Senator!

http://www.krauseforiowa.com

PS: It also has links to Face book and Twitter.