Arizona death panel?

Arizona suspends Medicare funding for organ transplants. Two dead. 97 others in line for transplants fear the worst.

Tough times call for tough decisions.

f*ck 'em. If God wanted them to live, he'd have miracled their asses new organs.

(or to put another way: we don't have infinite resources to provide best-in-class healthcare to everyone in the country. Proponents of Obamacare either a) pretend we do, or b) feel that Government fiat should be the determinant for who lives and who dies.

I'd prefer to allow the market to make those decisions. I also don't expect the Federal Government to buy me a house in a safe neighborhood, a safe car with maximum airbags and antilock brakes, healthy food, and other things designed to prolong the lives and promote the wellbeing of me and my family. I figure it's on me to earn the money to get those things.

But that's me. I'm not a liberal. On another note, here in Virginia it's so cold that I've even noticed Democrats with their hands in their *own* pockets these days.

Are the grownups still talking, shlomo?

The AZ Medicaid program that funded the organ transplants cost the state a whopping 1.4 million dollars a year....or about 21 cents per AZ resident...or by shlomo's definition - "infinite resources".

But we shouldn't give money to the government to spend because the government is the root of all evil - they might do irresponisble things like ....save the lives of those in need of an organ transplant. Its better to save that extra 25 cents on our income taxes. "Every man for himself" is the AMerican Way dont ya know. If those lazy leeches in the Medicaid program need a transplant they should just get out of their dialysis machine and get a job.

In any event, its interesting to note how all of the people who cried about the ficticious death panel in the national law are deathly silent (excuse the pun) on this issue.

When the Democrats make tough decisions it's called a death panel but when the Republicans make the tough decisions it is called fiscal responsibility.

Well, the state IS having financial problems with its budget and dropped a program that wasn't high on the list to be funded. By doing so, the state was in effect regulating the possibility of the death of about 100 of its citizens. This is Obama's "death panel" but in much smaller scale.

post deleted.

carry on.

Private insurance companies make decisions about proper and necessary treatment all the time, and turn down claims on a regular basis. So does our current single payer government medical insurance, Medicare. I think there are honorable people on both sides of this situation.

But anyone who actually believes that private insurance companies, Medicare, Arizona, and Obamacare have "death panels" is seriously stooopid.

I actually agree with Headhunter's Bitch in this case. We need to make those decisions, and since PJ can't recognize sarcasm, I'll spell it out:

a) too bad that those people got screwed
b) we can't save everyone, with every lifesaving technology, as we don't have the scratch
c) if you don't want to depend on the charity of others, it's simple: make enough money so you can take care of yourself. Else, pipe down, sux to be you.

A bitter pill to be sure, but that's life. Love it or leave it.

You simply don’t understand how the current medical system with private insurance works. If you get really sick to the point of needing an organ transplant the whole private insurance system is designed to kick you off of private insurance as quickly as possible and on to Medicaid. For example if you can no longer work because you’re so sick you need an organ transplant do you really think you can afford to pay $1500k+ per-month cobra premiums plus your co-pays and deductibles while you are not working? Even if you’re one of those rare people that can cobra only lasts 18 months, and soon you will be moving on to spend down your assets to qualify for Medicaid. So you’re mischaracterizing these people on the transplant list as most of them were hardworking people that had jobs and insurance before they got sick. They weren’t living their lives depending on the charity of others. The only thing they are guilty of is falling for the false sense of security that is called private insurance. We even had a regular here at LVA that died awhile back that had been an attorney, but was on Medicaid because of the severity of his illness.

Life isn't fair. Don't bankrupt the country trying to make it fair.