A win for Obama is a loss for seniors

As justices of the US Supreme Court consider the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, referred to derogatorily as ‘Obamacare,’ the fate of millions of America’s senior citizens hangs in the balance. If Obama loses and the law is thrown out, these seniors can breathe a sigh of relief. However, if Obama wins and the law stands, the fate of many of these seniors will be sealed as the Independent Payment Advisory Boards or ‘death panels’ will soon begin deciding which seniors do qualify for life-saving procedures and/or medications and which seniors do not.As I wrote in a previous column, the initiation of Obamacare will result in the U.S. government playing God ‘“ when that happens, Americans will lose, especially senior citizens.Imagine this ‘“ you’ve worked hard your entire life, you’ve been responsible and played by the rules, you’ve lived frugally and done what you were supposed to in preparation for retirement and, now that the time has come, the government steps in and says that you cannot have a life-enhancing hip replacement or life-saving bypass surgery because someone younger than you (who likely has made no provision for his or her own health insurance and/or is an illegal immigrant) needs it instead. If you think such a scenario won’t happen under Obamacare, think again.Those who have played by the rules will lose out to those who haven’t, again, especially seniors ‘“ the segment of America’s population most vulnerable to the negative impact of healthcare rationing that will inevitably result under Obamacare.The Obama Administration vehemently denies the charge that the plan will result in ‘death panels.’ And though it may be true that no actual panel will declare openly who lives and who dies, the result will essentially be the same as groups of government bureaucrats apply formulas based upon remaining ‘quality adjusted life years’ to requests for specific tests and procedures. Seniors in the upper age spectrum will be much less likely to receive healthcare services due simply to the fact that they are older, even if they are in better health than a younger person needing the same test or procedure.Since there’s no such thing as a ‘free lunch,’ the result of Obamacare will be the same as the result of every other newly enacted social program ‘“ those that work hard and provide for themselves and their families will be required to work even harder to provide for those that don’t work hard to provide for themselves. That’s just the way it is. If there were no people who didn’t work hard and didn’t take care of themselves, there wouldn’t be social programs such as welfare and government-sponsored (read: taxpayer-funded) single-payer healthcare programs, i.e., socialized medicine.Real Americans don’t have to be reminded that we care about the fate of our fellow citizens ‘“ America is perpetually the most charitable society the world has ever known. No decent American wants to see another American struggling, down on his or her luck, and with no one to turn to for help. Our innate compassion and Christian heritage and teachings foster a sense of concern for the less fortunate that leads us naturally to reach out to the downtrodden in an effort to help lift them up from their difficult circumstances to go on to live a better, happier life.But make no mistake ‘“ Obamacare isn’t about offering a helping hand to the less fortunate among us. Rather, it is a political ploy designed to capture the votes of a segment of American society who continually shirks the basic responsibility of providing for one’s self at the expense of those who do. And, in the end, those who play by the rules will lose out, as they always do, to those who don’t. To make the plan work, those who’ve earned the right to quality healthcare and who need it most will be denied ‘“ their resources instead being traded for a vote. As a result, many seniors will meet their end much sooner than necessary when the government begins playing God and Obama’s win becomes seniors’ loss.