To the editor:
Steve Ober's Aug. 26 "Misinformation" letter states that health care reform will provide increased elder care. That statement is truly "misinformation." Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, brother of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, has been appointed health adviser to President Barack Obama.
In the Feb. 27, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Emanuel wrote, "Vague promises of savings from cutting waste, enhancing prevention and wellness, installing electronic medical records and improving quality of care are merely 'lipstick' cost control, more for show and public relations than for true change."
True reform, he argues, must include redefining doctors' ethical obligations. In the June 18, 2008 issue, Dr. Emanuel blames the Hippocratic Oath for the "overuse" of medical care. Dr. Emanuel scolds physicians for thinking only about their own patients' needs. He calls it an obstinate problem. He believes doctors should serve two masters, the patient and society, and that medical students should be trained "to provide socially sustainable, cost-effective care." The focus cannot be only on the worth of the patient.
He has written extensively about who should get medical care, who should decide. And whose life is worth saving. Dr. Emanuel admits his plan appears to discriminate against older people. He says unlike allocation by sex or race, allocation of medical care by age is fair because they have already had more life years.
Mr. Ober may be willing to live under this health care plan, but it is unlikely anyone else is.
George C. Nichols
Newburyport
