By Warner Todd Huston ——Bio and Archives--October 6, 2012
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Well, maybe not death panels, exactly, but unless we start allocating health care resources more prudently -- rationing, by its proper name -- the exploding cost of Medicare will swamp the federal budget.So, not only is Ratner suddenly looking forward to the very death panels his paper mocked Palin for alerting us all to back in 2009, but he's now openly admitting that the costs of Obamacare will skyrocket unless we start rationing care and telling some people they aren't allowed to have health saving procedures!
Enter the Independent Payment Advisory Board. ObamaCare deliberately insulated it from normal Congressional oversight and approval (its word is law unless Congress acts; IPAB shouldn’t be able act unless Congress approves its budget and priorities). By dictating overall spending levels, IPAB will restrict care without knowing who they’re doing it to, leaving the dirty work of deciding exactly who should and shouldn’t receive care to hospitals and other medical providers. Consider it death panel outsourcing. You can rest assured that providers will get the latest and greatest advice from the likes of “Zeke the Bleak” Emanuel and others with a utilitarian view of humanity on implementing “quality-adjusted life year system” and other schemes to decide who is unworthy of medical attention up to and including continued life.Blummer also asked if Politifact was now going to vacate its dubious award to Palin for the Lie of The Year 2009 for her death panel comment? With Ratner essentially admitting that rationing is a must and that rationing means some won't get life saving care, it is Politifact itself that should be awarded the "lie of the year” award.
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Warner Todd Huston’s thoughtful commentary, sometimes irreverent often historically based, is featured on many websites such as Breitbart.com, among many, many others. He has also written for several history magazines, has appeared on numerous TV and radio shows.
He is also the owner and operator of Publius’ Forum.