October 2, 2009
The NYT And Death Panels
One trend I’ve noticed for quite some time is that of the mainstream media’s OpEds tending to echo whatever the agendas of our farthest-left politicians happen to be. The farther these anti-America intentions list to port, the more likely the MSM is to “go for the gusto”.
That said, the Grey Lady is at it again.
The next big thing in heart surgery are replacement valves, which can be implanted without open-heart surgery. But instead of evaluating this as a straightforward boon to humanity, the Times maintained its year-long push for health care rationing, emphasizing the new technology as a “costly valve for the frail” that may drive up health care spending even further with costly new procedures.”
Okay, they’ve said it, a “costly valve for the frail” that may drive up health care spending even further with costly new procedures.”
They’re not concerned with the damage done to our economy by massive illegal immigration, cap-&-trade legislation, government controlled healthcare or any number of social services that gouge the taxpayer, but here they are complaining about the cost of a specific procedure for “the frail”, which can only, or mostly, mean senior citizens.
A race is on to develop the potentially next big thing in heart surgery: a replacement valve that can be implanted through thin tubes known as catheters rather than by traditional open-heart surgery.
The contest pits two major companies, Edwards Lifesciences and Medtronic. Analysts estimate a market for the product that could exceed $1.5 billion within six years. But if the valves catch on, their benefits for the nation’s aging population could be substantial — even if the impact on the nation’s health care bill may be hard to calculate.
Our “compassionate” liberals evidently feel that since the old folks are beneficiaries of the system (never mind all the Social Security taxes and so forth they’ve had extracted from their paychecks over the years, like it or not) and no longer paying into it, they are some sort of parasite better expunged.
God protect Grandma and Grandpa from the New York Times and their ilk…
http://hardastarboard.mu.nu/wp-trackback.php?p=1037
October 2nd, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Uh, “..damage done to our economy by massive illegal immigration, cap-&-trade legislation, government controlled healthcare or any number of social services that gouge the taxpayer, but here they are complaining about the cost of a specific procedure for “the frail”, which can only, or mostly, mean senior citizens.” As a poor ol senior citizen, my worry is that manufacturing has gone from 35% GDP down to 12%,
while the healthcare ‘industry’ has gone up from 12% to
23% GDP. Now THAT is unhealthy. Yes, hundreds of billions yearly go directly to private health insurers, thanks to Medicare Part D and the medicare advantage..consumer ripoffs which enrich the huge coffers of the the health insurers. Hey, send it to me
DIRECT….before I get frail and need one of those garden faucet valve whatchamacalits!!
October 3rd, 2009 at 11:28 am
The UK economy is in even worse state with manufacturing down below 12% and an almost total reliance on “service industry” by which we mean financial services. The unemployment figures are over 2 million now for the first time since Maggie Thatcher came to power in the 1970’s and ther Unions are behaving like the Communist Cells they really are again. Oh, and we have a National Health Service that rations by post code, the care you get - but which we all pay through the neck for (£68 billion at last report). But we have filthy hospitals, waiting lists that seem endless and mediocre care as a universal given. But its “free at point of delivery” - the biggest lie in the world.
And the biggest parasitic organisation in the world, a Civil Service which employs over 21% of the total workforce in the UK. Paid for by the taxpayer, but answerable to no one. Welcome to the vision of socialist paradise.
October 3rd, 2009 at 4:10 pm
BB –
Concern by the NYT that those garden faucet valve whatchamacalits could be provided to the elderly at cost to the taxpayer (like those dripping socialists over there at the Times really give an airborne copulation about the taxpayers’ money) is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg — in a government controlled healthcare system, efficiency circa 1930s Berlin would be the watchword of the bean counting bureaucrats in charge, who, as we’ve already had a few clues, would preclude allocating funds toward the health and well being of anyone not able to contribute to the system, past contributions notwithstanding.
Personally, if I were a senior citizen, I wouldn’t worry so much how well the private sector healthcare industry was doing as far as their own revenues are concerned as much as I’d worry about the quality of medical treatment I could expect, purely in the interest of staying alive.
Say what you want about our current healthcare system, and I will admit it has a lot of flaws, but it’s still infinitely better, in terms of results, than its counterparts in countries that let their governments run it. Just look at all the Canadians who have to come down here in order to obtain treatment in a manner timely enough to save their lives.
I’ve heard of more than one Canadian asking, “But…if you Americans adopt government run healthcare, where will we go for treatment?”
October 3rd, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Gray Monk –
This is one of the big mysteries (to me, anyway) of life in the United States, or at least of so many of the people who live here, not least of whom are our portside politicians and most of our media, who are presumably intelligent and should know better, or at least be better informed.
They fight tooth & nail to force a lot of changes on the rest of us as well as themselves that will make uis much worse off than we are at present, no matter how many examples they are exposed to via other countries that have adopted the same changes.
“free at point of delivery” - the biggest lie in the world sums it all up perfectly.
These liberal folk won’t rest until they have completely overturned everything even remotely resembling the U.S.A. as it was during two centuries of ever increasing global leadership in prosperity and freedom.