KEEPING A LIE ALIVE

Jed Babbin at Human Events is still playing his readers for fools:

Passed in February, the “stimulus” bill included the mechanism for rationing medical care, the “Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research.” That panel is already empowered to make cost-effectiveness decisions to deny medical care to the elderly and other patients whose life expectancy is not long enough to be worth the cost of treatment.

Babbin deliberately misleads his readers by equating medical effectiveness with rationing. The stimulus bill (ARRA) makes it clear that there is no rationing involved:

That the funding appropriated in this paragraph shall be used to accelerate the development and dissemination of research assessing the comparative effectiveness of health care treatments and strategies, through efforts that: (1) conduct, support, or synthesize research that compares the clinical outcomes, effectiveness, and appropriateness of items, services, and procedures that are used to prevent, diagnose, or treat diseases, disorders, and other health conditions;

Furthermore, there is an explicit denial that effectiveness results are binding on anyone:

(g) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—
(1) COVERAGE.—Nothing in this section shall be construed
to permit the Council to mandate coverage, reimbursement,
or other policies for any public or private payer.
(2) REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—None of the reports
submitted under this section or recommendations made by the
Council shall be construed as mandates or clinical guidelines
for payment, coverage, or treatment.