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Palin stands by 'death panel' claim

By MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press Writer

Published: Friday, August 14, 2009 10:19 AM CDT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin refused to retreat from her debunked claim that a proposed health care overhaul would create "death panels," as the growing furor over end-of-life consultations forced a key group of senators to abandon the idea in their bill.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, one of six lawmakers negotiating on a Senate bill, said Thursday they had dropped end-of-life provisions from consideration "entirely because of the way they could be misinterpreted and implemented incorrectly."

In a Facebook posting called "Troubling Questions Remain About Obama's Health Care Plan," Palin said that "its gratifying that the voice of the people is getting through to Congress; however, that provision was not the only disturbing detail in this legislation; it was just one of the more obvious ones."

In an earlier Facebook posting, Palin argued that the elderly and ailing would be coerced into accepting minimal end-of-life care to reduce health care costs based on the Democratic bill in the House.

But there will be no "death panels" under the legislation being considered. In fact, the provision in the bill would allow Medicare to pay doctors for voluntary counseling sessions that address end-of-life issues. The conversations between doctor and patient would include living wills, making a close relative or a trusted friend your health care proxy, learning about hospice as an option for the terminally ill, and information about pain medications for people suffering chronic discomfort.

The sessions would be covered every five years, more frequently if someone is gravely ill.

The American Medical Association and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization support the provision.

In a Wednesday posting, Palin wrote: "With all due respect, it's misleading for the president to describe this section as an entirely voluntary provision that simply increases the information offered to Medicare recipients." She added, "It's all just more evidence that the Democratic legislative proposals will lead to health care rationing."

The issue is no longer viable for the six members of the Senate Finance Committee -- three Republicans and three Democrats -- working on a bipartisan bill, according to Grassley. In a statement, he criticized the House bill, saying there was a difference between a "simple education campaign, as some advocates want," and paying "physicians to advise patients about end-of-life care."

The provisions remain in the House bill.

Palin's posting came one day after Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said that Palin and other critics were not helping the GOP by tossing out false claims. (See Anchorage Daily News coverage.)

Portions of the Democratic health care bills "are bad enough that we don't need to be making things up," Murkowski said, invoking a phrase that Palin used in her resignation speech, when she asked the news media to "quit making things up."

Murkowski said she was offended at the "death panel" terminology. "There is no reason to gin up fear in the American public by saying things that are not included in the bill," she said.

Palin hasn't always been against end-of-life counseling. As Alaska governor, she signed a proclamation making April 16, 2008, Healthcare Decision Day with the goal to have health care professionals and others participate in a statewide effort to provide clear and consistent information about advance directives.

The proclamation noted that only about 20 percent of Alaskans, and 50 percent of severely or terminally ill patients, have an advance directive. "It is likely that a significant reason for these low percentages is that there is both a lack of knowledge and considerable confusion in the public about advance directives," it said.

Palin said Thursday that comparing that proclamation to Congress's end-of-life provision is "ridiculous."

"The two are like apples and oranges," she said. "The attempt to link the two shows how desperate the proponents of nationalized health care are to shift the debate away from the disturbing details of their bill."

Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson, a Republican who co-sponsored a similar measure in the Senate, said it was "nuts" to claim the bill encourages euthanasia.

And Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., who authored the provision on end-of-life counseling, said he is astounded that Palin has not tempered her bleak descriptions of the health care bill.

"It's deliberate at this point," Blumenauer said. "If she wasn't deliberately lying at the beginning, she is deliberately allowing a terrible falsehood to be spread with her name."

He said the measure would block funds for counseling that presents suicide or assisted suicide as an option, calling references to death panels or euthanasia "mind-numbing."

Associated Press writer Erica Werner contributed to this report.

On the Net:

Palin proclamation: http://www.gov.state.ak.us/archive.php?id1094&type6

Murkowski position on health care: http://murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Healthcare


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Thanks.

factsnodrama wrote on Aug 18, 2009 6:59 PM:

" What will Obama's teleprompter tell him to do next? :) "

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sandhouse wrote on Aug 17, 2009 8:37 AM:

" Palin 2012

Because everyone loves a quitter!!

:) "

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factsnodrama wrote on Aug 16, 2009 10:30 AM:

" Mac1974 wrote on Aug 15, 2009 12:05 PM:

" ~~~~~~Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., who authored the provision on end-of-life counseling, said he is astounded that Palin has not tempered her bleak descriptions of the health care bill.~~~~~He's surprised by Palin's comment? Seriously? What happened to expectations? Sarah Palin is a fundamentalist idiot who's proven her low IQ time and time and time again.... in front of the whole world no less. I'm surprised she hasn't testified that the devil himself authored the bill. "

They took end of life counseling out, Palin, pretty clever girl for a "low IQ" rotflmao!!!! :>)

She doesn't even work in Washington, and she's dictating legislation.

Palin 2012? believe it. "

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Mac1974 wrote on Aug 15, 2009 12:05 PM:

" ~~~~~~Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., who authored the provision on end-of-life counseling, said he is astounded that Palin has not tempered her bleak descriptions of the health care bill.~~~~~
He's surprised by Palin's comment? Seriously? What happened to expectations? Sarah Palin is a fundamentalist idiot who's proven her low IQ time and time and time again.... in front of the whole world no less. I'm surprised she hasn't testified that the devil himself authored the bill. "

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Byron W. wrote on Aug 14, 2009 5:25 PM:

" I can tell you I trust Palin more than I do Obama or the AP. "

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Byron W. wrote on Aug 14, 2009 5:23 PM:

" from the article: The sessions would be covered every five years, more frequently if someone is gravely ill.

sounds like the legislation is enocuraging death to me. "

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Byron W. wrote on Aug 14, 2009 5:22 PM:

" Debunked? How do you debunk hyperbole? "

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Travelin_Rose wrote on Aug 14, 2009 3:50 PM:

" You can think what you would like to think on this topic. However, socialized medicine concentrates its resources on 25-40 year olds. If you are older or younger, you get less and in the case of a newborn preemie or someone over 60, you get next to no healthcare. That is how the socialized medicine costs are controlled. You can pretend it isn't true but it is in England and Canada. The bulk of the monies and services are spent on the taxpayers. "

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Palin stands by 'death panel' claim

By MATTHEW DALYAssociated Press Writer

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By MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press Writer