Chuck Grassley (R) : Ted Kennedy to be let to die in UKs NHS

[tocqueville]

'Evil and Orwellian' – America's right turns its fire on NHS

Last week, the most senior Republican on the Senate finance committee, Chuck Grassley, took NHS-baiting to a newly emotive level by claiming that his ailing Democratic colleague, Edward Kennedy, would be left to die untreated from a brain tumour in Britain on the grounds that he would be considered too old to deserve treatment.

"I don't know for sure," said Grassley. "But I've heard several senators say that Ted Kennedy with a brain tumour, being 77 years old as opposed to being 37 years old, if he were in England, would not be treated for his disease, because end of life – when you get to be 77, your life is considered less valuable under those systems."

The degree of misinformation is causing dismay in NHS circles. Andrew Dillon, chief executive of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), pointed out that it was utterly false that Kennedy would be left untreated in Britain: "It is neither true nor is it anything you could extrapolate from anything we've ever recommended to the NHS."

......

David Levinthal, a spokesman for the nonpartisan Centre for Responsive Politics, said the sheer scale of the issue, which will affect the entire trajectory of US medical care, was arousing passions: "It's no surprise you have factions from every political stripe attempting to influence the debate and some of those groups are certainly playing to the deepest fears of Americans. There's been a great deal of documented disinformation propagated throughout the country." Defenders of Britain's system point out that the UK spends less per head on healthcare but has a higher life expectancy than the US. The World Health Organisation ranks Britain's healthcare as 18th in the world, while the US is in 37th place. The British Medical Association said a majority of Britain's doctors have consistently supported public provision of healthcare. A spokeswoman said the association's 140,000 members were sceptical about the US approach to medicine: "Doctors and the public here are appalled that there are so many people on the US who don't have proper access to healthcare. It's something we would find very, very shocking."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/11/nhs-united-states-republican-health

[tanyev]

1. So Grassley figured out the Stephen Hawking/UK argument was a no go.

[47of74]

2. Grassley is an embarrassment to all of us here in Iowa

He's getting to be just as much an embarrassment to us as that jerk Steve King. What a heartless thing to say, especially now with Ted's sister just having passed away.

[Cass]

3. "I don't know for sure..."

So he makes pretty serious accusations that, by his own admission, he doesn't even know are true.

:crazy:

[rurallib]

4. OK DU - please help us remove this cretin from office!

A good friend of mine will be announcing his candidacy for Grassley's seat Friday.
Please, please help us get rid of this cancer on Iowa and the US. Details to follow Friday!

[marshall]

5. At the very least he would get pain killers

He would not languish untreated.

[tocqueville]

8. he would be treated

Anyway in "socialist" France he would be. My mother was diagnosed with gall-bladder cancer at 94 after complaining of abdominal pain. The doctors were very pessimistic and discussed destruction of the tumor, but feared that she wouldn't survive an operation. In the hospital, she was treated with painkillers while they started exams to reach a final decision how to tackle the issue. But nature decided otherwise, she passed away in her sleep after one week. The day before she had been better and even out in a wheelchair with a nurse. Do I need to mention that all this cost nothing to her or the family because she was totally covered by our social security. And no "government" was involved in the treatment either.

[Stinky The Clown]

6. Grassley needs to stop sleeping on his side ...... his brain is leaking out of his ears

What a fucking moron.

[Hepburn]

12. +1...n/t

[madmom]

7. So they are trying to say that old people would die in the UK. I'm not saying this

is true but what we have to say is THIS IS NOT THE UK! There are lots of things they do over there that we don't do here. Whatever happened to finding your own solution to problems. Whatever happened to looking at someone else's solutions and (the repugs will like this) cherry pick the best parts and coming up with your own version. Are we that inept that we have to copy verbatim everything even parts we don't like or agree with? I know repugs have no original ideas of their own but we dems should be shouting this from the rooftops.

[n2doc]

9. Ted Kennedy is wealthy

And the wealthy can get great heath care no matter where they are, they can travel if need be.

If he were poor he would already be dead in the USA system.

[tocqueville]

10. the UK spends less per head on healthcare but has a higher life expectancy than the US nt

[napi21]

11. Grassley referencing Kennedy was just plain STUPID!

When we talk about HC here in the US & around the world, we're NEVER talking about people who have the $$ the Kennedy's do, or anyone like them. Believe me, if they want a certain treatment or procedure, they'll get it!

I watched the Senate hearing markup when they were discussing reimbursement to Dr's or lawyers for counceling people on how to make the living will THEY WANT! Sure it's an uncomfortable discussion to have with people as they grow older, but if you can get past thee fear, I've never known anyone who just wants to pass that decision on to their family. I did mine during the Terri Schiavo catastrophy, and I also told my husband & kids "You phove tubes in me, not to cure, but just to prolong the inevitable, and I swear, I'll haunt you till the day you die!"