Harvard Nazis to Decide the New World of Healthcare Decisions

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal carried a story that clearly indicates the type of world we'll be entering if President Obama and Democrats get their way with healthcare. It's terrifying.

Titled "Knee Replacements Are Determined to Be Cost-Effective," the story details how knee replacements add to quality of life and extend life:

In the study, based on a computer model using Medicare claims and other data, total knee replacement provided about one year of better quality of life compared to that experienced by patients who didn't have the procedure, researchers said. The average age of patients whose data were included in the model was 74.

The analysis, which appears in the current Archives of Internal Medicine, found that the year of benefit cost about $18,300. Researchers said the amount fell well within the threshold of $50,000 per year of better-quality life generally considered as cost-effective.

The findings reflect growing interest in determining the value of big-ticket medical treatments amid efforts by the Obama administration and Congress to contain costs and overhaul the health-care system.

At first glance, it's easy to get caught up in the seductive rationale of the study and its use by the Obama administration. Surely we don't want to be wasting money on procedures that don't do any good, right? And if it's public money we're talking about, we want good ROI, right?

At least that's the case made by the whiz-kid Nazi-wannabe at Harvard who authored the study:

"Unfortunately, we as a society have limited resources and need to figure out whether we are spending our money wisely," said Elena Losina, an author of the study and a professor of orthopedic surgery at Harvard Medical School. "And as it often happens, the return on investment is less in the elderly population."

So if that's your reasoning, Ms. Losena, let's just round up the elderly and euthanize them. Is that what you want? After all, the old people = bad ROI. Right? Isn't that your cold-blooded calculus?

Of course, as a good Harvard-bred Statist, Ms. Losena doesn't value the rights of individuals and people, especially elderly, are only as good as her calculus of their value to some nebulus ROI. That's Nazi-ism at its core.

Scary Scary Scary.

I am not a Statist. I'm a conservative and the way I figure it, Medicare owes me that surgery no matter what age or expected ROI some Nazi bean counter calculates.

After all, I like everyone have been paying for Medicare throughout my entire working life. I haven't been allowed to use those monies, even to purchase my own long-term care and elderly healthcare insurance on the premise that when I do need that healthcare service it will be available through the government's Medicare.

But no this isn't the case, not according to Losena. It's not my money. It's not my decision. It's not my knee. It's not my life. I'm their slave, I'm their sheeple, waiting in line for their decision about quality of life and ROI.

Shame on you Ms. Losena for being such a cold-blooded human. You scare me.