WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts today made the following statement on the Senate floor regarding the Administration’s admission of goal to ration health care in America:

“Recently Leader McConnell, Dr. Barrasso and I engaged in a colloquy regarding President Obama’s nominee for the head of CMS, Dr. Donald Berwick.

“Dr. Berwick has a long history of statements supporting government rationing of health care, an issue that I have fought against vigorously throughout the health care debate.

“The White House response to our colloquy was most unfortunate if not incredible. Here is what the Obama Administration had to say:

“‘No one is surprised that Republicans plan to use this confirmation process to trot out the same arguments and scare tactics they hoped would block health insurance reform.

“‘The fact is, rationing is rampant in the system today, as insurers make arbitrary decisions about who can get the care they need. Don Berwick wants to see a system in which those decisions are transparent– and that the people who make them are held accountable.’”

“This is really a fascinating response. Instead of flat out denials of government rationing we have excuses.

“And if you read between the lines you will notice that for the first time ever in this debate the Obama White House is admitting that their health care plan will ration health care.

“Remember, when Republicans like myself, and Senator Kyl and Dr. Coburn tried to warn that health care reform would result in government-rationed care we were dismissed as “crazy reactionaries” or even worse.

“President Obama accused us of trying to scare people, and no less than the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)- that organization that purports to represent Medicare patients and seniors across our great nation- said that our rationing concerns were mere ‘myth’- that ‘none of the health care reforms...would stand between individuals and their doctors or prevent any American from choosing the best possible care.’

“To set the record straight: I do not accept rationing whether it be transparent or otherwise.

“I am opposed to rationing whether it is done by the government or by an insurance company- I am not defending any of the practices of insurance companies who have unjustly denied claims.

“And I am against rationing whether it is proposed by Republicans, or Democrats, or think tanks, or the special interest sidelines.

“But the Obama Administration’s response does nothing to address my concerns that our government will ration care. Instead, we finally have an admission from the White House that this is what they plan to do.

“We have a fundamental disagreement about the future of our health care delivery system, and I happen to think that it is important that we have this conversation so that the American people can understand what’s really going on here.

“We still need answers.

“What did Dr. Berwick mean when he said:

“‘I am a romantic about the [British] National Health Service; I love it. All I need to do to rediscover the romance is to look at the health care in my own country,’?

“With cancer survival rates for women ten percentage points higher in the U.S. than in England, and over twenty points higher for men, why does he think that their government-run system is superior to our system?

“And please explain this quote: ‘If I could wave a magic wand...health care [would be] a common good– single payer...health care [would be] a human right– universality is a non-negotiable starting place...justice [would be] a prerequisite to health- equity is a primary quality goal.’

“While that may sound nice, the reality is that declaring health care to be a human right necessarily places some citizens’ rights above others- suppressing the rights of some in favor of another government-favored group. 

“Because if you are saying that health care is a universal right, what you are essentially saying is that some people have a right to someone else’s property- whether that be taxable income or doctor’s services or their health care.

“I disagree with this argument. Health care has become an entitlement for some in this country, but it cannot be properly described as a ‘right’ without egregious government coercion and income redistribution and patient care consequences. 

“But maybe that’s okay with Dr. Berwick, after all he did say that ‘any health care funding plan that is just, equitable, civilized, and humane must– must– redistribute wealth from the richer among us to the poorer and less fortunate.’ I’d like to hear more from Dr. Berwick on this point. 

“Furthermore, what did he mean when he said that ‘equity’ is a necessary component of ‘quality’? Does that mean that high quality care should not be available unless it is available to all?

“This certainly seems to square with the United Kingdom’s practice of denying or delaying access to the latest breakthrough drugs and technologies because of their high costs. What does Dr. Berwick think this attitude will do to investment and innovation in new life-saving treatments?

“And what about this quote:

‘Limited resources require decisions about who will have access to care and the extent of their coverage. The complexity and cost of health care delivery systems may set up a tension between what is good for the society as a whole and what is best for an individual patient...Hence, those working in health care delivery may be faced with situations in which it seems that the best course is to manipulate the flawed system for the benefit of a specific patient...rather than to work to improve the delivery of care for all.’

“Is this a suggestion that it is a doctor’s duty to concentrate on the good of society over the good of his or her patient?

“This certainly sounds like a proponent of socialized medicine to me.

“And finally, this is a question about the following statement by Dr. Berwick:

‘Most people who have serious pain do not need advanced methods; they just need the morphine and counseling that have been around for centuries.’

“I know Dr. Berwick is familiar with the ‘Liverpool Care Pathway’ to death that is employed in the British health care system and its reliance on ‘morphine and counseling’. He should also be aware of the growing concerns of many British doctors that this pathway to death is being overused for patients who would have otherwise recovered.

“Is this what is being advocated for the American health care system? For Medicare patients?

“This certainly sounds like the ‘death panels’ that became so roundly ridiculed and dismissed by Obamacare supporters during the last year’s debate.

“I know that socialized medicine and death panels have become loaded terms, but if that is what you are for you should just say so! Don’t be afraid to have this discussion! Dr. Berwick certainly hasn’t been shy about his views in the past.

“And maybe this is a comment more appropriately directed at the Obama Administration than at Dr. Berwick, but don’t hide behind straw men and name calling of those who disagree with you!

“I have legitimate concerns about the direction you are taking this country- particularly with regards to health care.

“The thousands of people in Kansas who have contacted me over the last year have legitimate concerns too. And if you don’t think that I deserve some answers, well they certainly do.

“The American people are sick and tired of being told that they are crazy or racist, or that they don’t know what they are talking about or are being mis-led, or that any question raised is partisan politics.

“Promise after promise has been broken- from the pledge to not raise taxes, to the promise that ‘if you like what you have you can keep it,’ to the falsehood that this new law doesn’t cut Medicare. And remember the one about lowering premiums? The list goes on and on.

“And now it is beyond a shadow of a doubt that this law will ration health care.

“I think that we are duty-bound to hold this Administration and its nominees accountable for these broken promises and for what lies ahead for patient care.

“That is why I will continue to ask the hard questions that need to be asked. I will continue to fight against what I truly believe is government rationing of health care. And I will continue to maintain that the American health care system, with all of its flaws, is the best health care system in the world.

“We need to fix the flaws. We don’t need rationing.

“And, in the case of Dr. Berwick, we need answers.”

Senator Roberts is a member of the Senate Committee on Finance which will consider the President’s nomination.

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