Greenbeard
Gold Member
Sometimes it just takes a little space from the next election for someone to start making sense. And, surprisingly (I must say), today it's Darrell Issa, who seems to recognize that it's time to jettison the "death panel" nonsense and start talking like adults about important questions. Some choice bits from the WSJ article:
Good for him.
Republicans should talk less about "death panels" and more about cutting the overuse of expensive medical procedures, said a powerful GOP lawmaker [Darrell Issa] who has the health industry in his sights.
[...]
"If I can help every senior get the same care they're getting and still save tens of billions of dollars and have no doctors cheated out of what they're entitled to, what's not to like?" he said.
[...]
Under current rules, Medicare cannot consider cost-effectiveness in its coverage decisions. But Mr. Issa said it may be time to consider costs as well as efficacy, as long as medical decisions are made by doctors, not by "bureaucrats" in government.
"My committee can help by looking at whether the government is answering and informing about the lowest-cost, least-invasive procedures," he said.
Cost-effectiveness became the center of controversy during the debate leading up to the passage of the Democrats' health-care bill in March. Some critics of the bill claimed the Obama administration's plans could lead to government "death panels."
Mr. Issa said he shares the view of his colleague, Rep. Charles Boustany (R., La.), a surgeon. Citing Mr. Boustany, Mr. Issa said that "medical panels of people who care about what's best for their patients" and about appropriate procedures "is good science and good medicine."
"Republicans have to step back from the words 'death panels,' " Mr. Issa said.
Good for him.