Ocasio-Cortez says ‘death panels’ exist in private health insurance market

Authored by thehill.com and submitted by bem50
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Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-CortezOcasio-Cortez says ‘death panels’ exist in private health insurance market Ocasio-Cortez: 'Frustrating' that lawmakers oppose 'Medicare for all' while enjoying cheap government insurance Ocasio-Cortez gets office two doors down from Pelosi MORE (D-N.Y.) on Sunday referred to "death panels," which was popularized almost a decade ago by Sarah Palin, saying they exist in the private health insurance market.

"Actually, we have for-profit 'death panels' now: they are companies + boards saying you’re on your own bc they won’t cover a critical procedure or medicine," she wrote in a back-and-forth with the president of a conservative think tank on Twitter.

"Maybe if the GOP stopped hiding behind this 'socialist' rock they love to throw, they’d actually engage on-issue for once."

Actually, we have for-profit “death panels” now: they are companies + boards saying you’re on your own bc they won’t cover a critical procedure or medicine.

Maybe if the GOP stopped hiding behind this “socialist” rock they love to throw, they’d actually engage on-issue for once. https://t.co/4P2TrflkFX — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) December 2, 2018

She made the "death panels" comment in response to Jim Hanson, the president of Security Studies Group, with whom she had been exchanging posts about the merits of further government intervention into health care.

"Nice try," Hanson wrote in reply to Ocasio-Cortez's assertion that death panels exist. "But commercial insurance gives people choices about what coverages they want & decide to pay for."

"Your single payer nightmare will replace that with a one size fits none 'choice' decided by faceless bureaucrats," he wrote. "Coverage for all. Treatment for few."

"Ask the Brits how they love the #NHS," he wrote in a second reply. "You're all playing the Other People's $$$ will pay for it game."

Ocasio-Cortez, a self-described democratic socialist, is one of several progressive freshman lawmakers who support "Medicare for all," a system that would extend government Medicare coverage to every American.

She said on Twitter earlier Sunday that Americans "don’t want overly complicated choice between pricey, low-quality plans."

"We want an affordable solution that covers our needs, like the rest of the modern world."

People don’t want overly complicated choice between pricey, low-quality plans.

We want an affordable solution that covers our needs, like the rest of the modern world.

- 0 due *at point of service* — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) December 2, 2018

"Death panels" is a term coined by Palin in 2009, building on the work of economist Thomas Sowell, to describe governmental panels that ration care.

Many on the left have said Palin was unfair to use the term to characterize the repercussions of the Affordable Care Act.

Conservatives have taken up the term, pointing to the effects of government intervention into health-care systems in other countries such as Canada.

— This report was updated at 1:16 p.m.

NUMBERS2357 on December 2nd, 2018 at 19:34 UTC »

For those saying this is bullshit - here is a story of a hospital denying someone a heart transplant because they don't have the money to pay for the necessary drugs, and suggesting they go on GoFundMe.

VorpalBunny0604 on December 2nd, 2018 at 18:31 UTC »

I have a chronic, debilitating disorder. I have several MDs helping me. One recommended a surgical implant to help, but in ins co, in its wisdom, will not approve the surgery. I’ve taken it as far as I can under the system rules; the ins medical panel knows me better than my own doctors, apparently. So now, instead of perhaps, likely) being able to walk and enjoy my life, I’m stuck on ineffective pain killers and a shut-in lifestyle.

So while I’m very grateful for my crumbs of health insurance, I’d really rather have a whole piece of the pie. Please. Single payer!

Sayter on December 2nd, 2018 at 18:14 UTC »

https://twitter.com/Ocasio2018/status/1069268454455341056

"Actually, we have for-profit “death panels” now: they are companies + boards saying you’re on your own bc they won’t cover a critical procedure or medicine. Maybe if the GOP stopped hiding behind this “socialist” rock they love to throw, they’d actually engage on-issue for once."