Public option myths

October 6, 11:31 AMCongress ExaminerIgor Derysh

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Sarah Palin

With the Democrats still unable to ram through the healthcare reform bill, the political fringes are circulating a number of complete myths that have been able to have a direct effect on the passage of this bill.

Here are 6 of the biggest public option myths and lies:

Death Panels

If you are a person who pays close attention to what comes out of the very educated mouth of Sarah Palin, you probably think that Obama wants to create a program in which doctors can just kill off patients like your grandmother or Sarah Palin's handicapped child.

The truth is, the bill requires that the elderly meet with their doctor once every five years to decide on end-of-life care. The patient will be the one who decides this.

The program is necessary because end-of-life care is the most costly and would save a lot of money.

The Bill Will Bankrupt Us

The budgetary and accounting offices in Washington have put a fairly steep price tag on the bill but it will hardly bankrupt us.

In fact, what is more dangerous is allowing Medicaid and Medicare to continue to grow at their current rate as the cost will exceed 100% of our GDP within fifty years.

Illegal Immigrant Coverage

The supposed part of the healthcare bill that caused Joe Wilson to make an ass of himself in the Chambers of Congress is not a part of the bill at all. This is just flat out not true as illegal immigrants are not eligible for any of the parts in the healthcare bill just as they are largely ineligible to receive Medicaid benefits.

Of course, if they show up to the emergency room, the hospital would have to treat them but, then again, what would you prefer to do with a bleeding illegal immigrant?

We Have Best Healthcare System

This would be true if we were France, who has a hybrid healthcare system in place right now. Unfortunately, since we are the United States, we have the 37th best healthcare system in the world according to the World Health Organization and do not rank much better in other studies.

Current Coverage is Satisfactory

This is hardly the case unless you consider the fact that around one-third of the country is uninsured or underinsured and everyone else lives in a system in which an insurance company can deny your daughters cancer treatment satisfactory.

People Don't Want Public Option

The radical, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh led fringe right does not want the public option and millions of others say that they don't. 65% of Americans do actually admit that they want the public option.