HEALTH-CARE WARNING - AT 9:03 A.M. ET:  One of the most stunning aspects to the current debate over health-care "reform" is the callousness of many on the left toward the elderly.  It mirrors their cold attitude toward the unborn.  These are self-appointed protectors of the public good, who believe they know what's best for families, to the degree that they approve of families. 

Betsy McCaughey, former lieutenant governor of New York, is an authority on health policy.  Although often denounced as an eccentric - the usual charge of mental inadequacy made by some leftists toward anyone who dissents from their perfect vision - she's performed invaluable service in pointing out the flaws in proposed legislation.  Now she does it again:

Everyone knows that if you don't pay to maintain and repair your car, you limit its life. The same is true as human beings age. We need medical care to avoid becoming clunkers -- disabled, worn out, parked in wheelchairs or nursing homes.

For nearly a half century, Medicare has enabled seniors to get that care. But ObamaCare is about to change that, by limiting what doctors can provide their aging patients.

The Senate Finance Committee health bill released last week controls doctors by cutting their pay if they give older patients more care than the government deems appropriate. Section 3003(b) (p. 683) punishes doctors who land in the 90th percentile or above on what they provide for seniors on Medicare by withholding 5 percent of their compensation.

This withhold provision forces doctors to choose between treating their patients and avoiding government penalties. HMOs used the same cost-cutting device in the early '90s until it was deemed dangerous to patients and outlawed. Now, lawmakers want to use it against the most vulnerable patients, the elderly. This bill and four others under negotiation also would slash about $500 billion from future Medicare funding.

COMMENT:  This is from the wonderful guys who give us these periodic "anti-war" and "human rights" movements.  Whether one likes or dislikes Medicare, several generations have planned their later years around its provisions - for which they've partially paid in the form of Medicare premiums.

Frankly, I'm not surprised at the behavior of some liberals toward the elderly.  The elderly are more conservative, are often veterans (uhg!), aren't too beautiful, don't vacation in Aspen, and don't necessarily take Obama as a deity.  Who needs 'em?  Oh, and they're generally in America legally.

The GOP should attack the anti-elderly provisions in the proposed legislation, and peel off some of the support that many elderly people have given the Democratic Party, thinking it's looking out for them.

October 27, 2009