Who's really going to destroy Medicare?

Obama and the Democrat Party have consistently made the allegation that Romney/Ryan will destroy Medicare. But who will really destroy it?

Steven Rattner was a counselor to Obama's Treasury Secretary. He was Obama's "Car Czar" who engineered the GM bailouts. Granted, he doesn't speak for Obama, but you have to wonder how close his thoughts are to those of the administration.

Rattner believes that people in the last year of life are not entitled to the same medical care that others might receive. I'd like to know who decides one is "in the last year of life." He says that Medicare must be rationed -- that we need death panels. He proposes limiting Medicare spending per beneficiary. He says other countries have systems for rationing care, and so should we. He says Obama's "Independent Payment Advisory Board" (death panel) should be allowed to put an explicit value on a treatment's ability to extend life. In other words, if a treatment that could extend my life costs $50,000, but the board has decided I'm worth only $48,000, I won't get the treatment.

In a related letter to the editor, Matt Jaremko of Dallas says that we don't have to provide expensive treatments for the elderly. He says we can use psychotherapy and medical marijuana. I guess the doctors can say, "Smoke a joint and call me in the morning." He also suggests that a tax on revenues be collected from providers. He says that will keep them from ordering expensive treatment and tests. What he means is that it will make treatment and tests unavailable to the vast majority of elderly Americans.

And that, my friends, is why government should never have been, and should not now be, in the health care business at all!

"Medicare death panels? No, but . . ." The Dallas Morning News; September 18, 2012; p. 13A.
"Sensitive end-of-life solutions." The Dallas Morning News; September 20, 2012; p. 16A.