Millions of senior citizens will be negatively affected by the new stimulus plan put forth by President Obama. A midnight insertion of a provision essentially creates a government program that empowers the federal government with direct oversight of the treatments your doctors deem essential. AmericanSeniors.Org believes that this provision is the starting point of the slippery slope toward rationed health care which will unfairly impact senior citizens.
This new bureaucracy creates the office of the “National Coordinator of Health Information Technology” to monitor medical treatments across America. This government agency will decide if your doctor is going “overboard” in his treatment of your particular illness or condition. What will they use as their determining factors? At what age is a treatment excessive? Will they determine that anyone over a certain age is no longer a “viable” recipient of a heart transplant? AmericanSeniors.Org is fighting back and urging your elected representatives to eliminate this provision in the stimulus plan.
The architect of this provision is Tom Daschle, former U.S. Senator, who believes that seniors should be understanding and accept that failing health is a part of the aging process. He thinks that a “review board” should determine whether a prescribed treatment meets certain economic guidelines. AmericanSeniors.Org believes that every senior, along with their doctor, has the right to determine which course of treatment they pursue; not a bureaucrat in Washington D.C.
Hiding this provision in a “Stimulus Package” is cowardly at best and insidious at worst. This midnight insertion will be affecting health care for senior citizens in innumerable ways forever. Should a 35 year old man get a treatment that is unavailable for a 65 year old woman? Daschle believes that the older woman should just lay back on her bed and “let it happen”. If a doctor proceeds and administers a treatment deemed “excessive”, he can be penalized by the review board. This threat of penalty inherently leads to restricted treatment options for senior patients. AmericanSeniors.Org does not want to “let it happen” to her or any of the millions of seniors affected by this provision.
AmericanSeniors.Org asks every elected representative to sign a pledge guaranteeing the stability of the current Medicare program for seniors. This lifeline for seniors is vital to their physical and mental well being. If changes are necessary, let’s insure that today’s senior citizens do not receive the brunt of the changes, they deserve more from the country they helped to build.
* AmericanSeniors.org is the fastest growing senior group in America. We are dedicated to defending, promoting and expanding the policies and programs designed to protect the rights of seniors.
