A Quarter Of Head And Neck Surgeons Think Obamacare Has Death Panels

Maybe they ought to have their heads (and necks) examined if they think Obamacare calls for death panels.

The journal Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery recently sent a questionnaire to to 9,972 head and neck surgeons that had 10 basic questions about the health-care law. It’s one that Kasier Family Foundation created in 2010, which you can take yourself here.

The 647 responses that came back were … depressing. Twenty-seven percent of respondents thought that the health-care law includes a “government panel [that] makes end-of-life care decisions for Medicare.” This would be the so-called death panel rumor that ran rampant during the congressional debate over health care.

The Affordable Care Act did initially include a provision that would reimburse Medicare doctors for having discussions about, but not necessarily recommending, end-of-life options. But that was taken out in early 2011 after a front page article in the New York Times highlighted the issue.

By: Cheston Catalano

Cheston Catalano is a Kentucky-based journalist whose work has been featured in the Chattanooga Times Free Press and the Clarksville Leaf Chronicle. He is a long-time contributor to Liberaland.