Sarah Palin wasn't that far off when she talked about death panels-- except she failed to grasp that they already exist: They're called health insurance companies.
Every day, people who have spent decades paying into a health insurance policy, find themselves severely injured or sick and then have to deal with an insurance company that is failing to follow through on their end of the bargain: Paying for the necessary medical care.
One example is oral chemotherapy for cancer patients. In many cases, it's more effective than other forms of chemotherapy in fighting cancer, but because it's more expensive, many insurance companies don't define it as a form of chemotherapy and, therefore, don't cover it. What the Cancer Treatment Fairness Act would simply do is require health insurance companies that already cover chemotherapy, to include "oral chemotherapy."
This bill was supported by a majority of Wisconsin's state senators-- including six Republican state senators. However, because a majority of Republican senators don't support it, Senate Majority Scott Fitzerald refused to even allow it to go up for a vote.
As State Senator Jon Erpenbach pointed out, "the reality is many advocates of this bill will die between now and the next session" because the Wisconsin legislature failed to hold health insurance companies accountable.
Death panels, indeed.
