August, 2009

Healthcare Reform, Bioethics-Style

Betsy McCaughey, former Lieutenant Governor of New York State, warns of dangers within two healthcare bills that are on fast tracks through the US Congress. Both bills have the blessing of the Obama administration, and both count on cutting costs by rationing healthcare services.

The goal is to reduce everyone's consumption of health care" says McCaughey in a July 17 column in the New York Post.

Seniors are at greatest risk, according to McCaughey. Tax hikes would cover half the estimated $1.04 trillion expense; the rest would come out of Medicare cuts. McCaughey explains, "There's plenty of waste in Medicare, but the Congressional Budget Office estimates only 1 percent of the savings under the legislation will be from curbing waste, fraud and abuse. That means the rest will likely come from reducing what patients get."

She warns that "one troubling provision of the House bill compels seniors to submit to a counseling session every five years (and more if they become sick or go into a nursing home) about alternatives for end-of-life care (House bill, p. 425-430). The sessions cover highly sensitive matters such as whether to receive antibiotics and 'the use of artificially administered nutrition and hydration.'"

Visit McCaughey's website, www.defendyourhealthcare.us. It is a gold mine of information on the healthcare reform debate. See, for example, "Dissecting the Kennedy Bill."