Matt C. Abbott
U.S. health care and 'dark hospice'
By Matt C. Abbott
The following is a slightly edited e-letter from Ron Panzer, founder and executive director of Hospice Patients Alliance.
The following is a slightly edited e-letter from Ron Panzer, founder and executive director of Hospice Patients Alliance.
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'With all the talk by the candidates these days, there's a huge focus on health care and how to cover those who are uninsured. Whether Republicans or Democrats, none of the candidates are discussing the 'elephant in the room,' i.e. hospice's role in balancing the budget and making it possible to fully fund new health care proposals.
'What I call 'dark hospice' is steadily moving forward, becoming the norm in the hospice industry. It's not the pure, altruistic mission it was for those who volunteered in the early days of hospice's start in the U.S. It's all about big monetary savings for the state and federal government-funded insurance programs (Medicare and Medicaid) and private insurance companies.'Dark hospice intends the death of patients. Yet, they still pretend to be the old-time, dedicated hospice the public expects — 'We never hasten death, nor do we prolong dying,' or a hundred variations of the same theme. The idea was that hospice did not try to cure the incurable, but did everything it could to relieve pain and suffering at the end-of-life. Well, yes, of course, many still do that. But many hospices are really into hastening death and are true believers in the mission of 'controlling' death so that it occurs when it is desired (most often by the staff that imposes it).
'Dark hospice is the 'final solution' to the Social Security mess looming with the baby boomers. Dark hospice is the 'final solution' to the Medicare/Medicaid and private insurance industry budget/profit crunch. The elected officials and candidates promise everything, including the kitchen sink, to everyone in the country, but they don't reveal the truth about how it is all going to happen.
'Watch very carefully, listen carefully to the language used (but not widely publicized) about mandatory enrollment in whatever program the government sets up and rationing the health care resources 'for the good of all.' What they're talking about is forced participation, limited choices, limited treatment options, and yes, mandatory death when it serves the purpose of those in power.
'Those who have read the 1993 health proposals of the Clinton administration (I have) know it would have made it a felony for health care providers to offer services other than those approved by the government. In other words, Big Brother not only would control who gets health care, but also what health care is available — they would know better what services should be available and what services should not be available. And when the time is 'right' — not necessarily according to the patient or the patient's family, or the physician involved — patients are to be shunted over into dark hospice...and death imposed. This is already happening. But utilization of hospice is not enough, even though the percentage of the population using it is steadily increasing every year. Utilization of hospice is planned to be 100 percent, meaning everyone dies in hospice.
'So, we've been treated to the royal bait-and-switch con of the century: Promise relief from suffering at the end of life while allowing a natural death in its own timing (the original hospice mission), and switch to: When it's 'your special time,' we will send you to hospice where death will be imposed and no government enforcement agency will ever investigate the crime of your being killed in a hospice — or any other convenient 'government-approved' health care facility.
'Kevorkian is on the move, released to further the government's agenda: mandatory health care/health care rationing and imposed death when convenient to silently balance the budget.
'The Republicans do nothing about the killings already occurring and the Democrats are eager to usher in a sped-up wave of killings. (Doubt it? How come every pro-assisted suicide bill in the country is Democrat-sponsored?) The Republicans in power simply don't have the honesty to admit they know about these — and they do — and privately have agreed to allow the killings to continue for the sake of the balanced budget. Our nation's living room is getting squeezed by dark hospice, the elephant right in front of our eyes, but nobody wishes to remove it.
'Tough luck for those who are severely disabled, acutely ill or terminally ill.'
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