History repeating itself?

let me put it this way, ive beaten cancer twice. while with the V.A. i had to wait 6 months before getting a ct scan after making an appointment to see if it or it's coming back, why should i wait 6 months to get a scan on a yearly basis when i can go get 1 myself and pay 20% of the cost the next day thru medicare, within that 1 year waiting cancer could have spread thru my body to other parts . it's not thats its a death panel its the wait to see a doc or procedure that can cost you your life. i do know for a fact my primary and her group of doctors are retiring if this so- called government health care plan goes thru. then what am i supposed to do stand in line at the v. a. again for months waiting for another appointment. that pure b.s.

I am not so sure there are no "death panels". Have a look at this in the HR3200 bill.

Sec. 123 Health Benefits Advisory Committee
"There is established a private-public advisory committee which shall be a panel of medical and OTHER EXPERTS to be known as the Health Benefits Advisory Committee to reccommend covered benefits..."

"MEMBERSHIP.—The Health Benefits Advisory Committee shall be composed of the following members, in addition to the Surgeon General:

(A)9 members who are not Federal employees or officers and who are APPOINTED BY THE PRESIDENT.
B) 9 members who are not Federal employees or officers and who are appointed by the Comptroller General of the United States in a manner similar to the manner in which the Comptroller General appoints members to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission under section 1805(c) of the Social Security Act.
(C) Such even number of members (not to exceed 8) WHO ARE FEDERAL EMPLOYEES and OFFICERS, as the PRESIDENT MAY APPOINT."

There's 9 members appointed by the President, 8 Federal employees appointed by the President and 9 appointed by another Federal employee.

Of the 27 members, one is the President's Surgeon General and another 17 are appointed by him. That gives the President's choice government appointees and employees a majority vote of 18 to 9 on any issue. That could easily be a "death panel" depending on what benefits they recommend or deny be in policies and the policy language that applies to procedures and who gets them and when.

Here's how Hitler started out on his campaign to get rid of undesirable elements, the disabled, mentally ill and babies born with physical defects or deformity. He signed this directive:

"Berlin, 1 September 1939

Reichsleiter Bouhler and Dr. med. Brandt are instructed to broaden the powers of physicians designated by name, who will decide whether those who have - as far as can be humanly determined - incurable illnesses can, after the most careful evaluation, be granted a mercy death.

/signed/ Adolf Hitler"

Doesn't sound that bad, right? I mean, the society right now is moving towards doctor-assisted suicide for those who are incurable and want a mercy death. But once physicians are empowered to make decisions, the patient's rights tend to disappear.

Is it fear-mongering or just an attempt to make people look at where they could be headed? Even if people aren't jumping off a cliff yet, it's no crime to put up a sign warning them that they are near the cliff's edge. Right now, we are very close to the edge, and people are still ignoring the dangers.

I must agree that it appears that history is repeating itself. Back in 1993 we had the original version of the "Harry and Louise" fear-mongering ads; today we just have more fear-mongering and bigger lies. I DO resent any U. S. "regime" being compared to Hitler and think that's a huge insult to all of those who died in the Holocaust and their family members who survived not to mention our soldiers who fought in World War II to end that atrocity. We HAVE been lured on by false promises of hope and security and the result of the Iraq War, the Patriot Act and other concessions we made to our freedoms. Hopefully that war will be over soon and with any luck eventually the Patriot Act will be repealed. We Americans have many rights and freedoms the German people didn't have 60 years ago and we're not about to let that part of history repeat itself here. Let's hope we also prevent it from repeating itself regarding another failure to get true health care reform as well.

Annie