Sarah Palin has issued a robust — and lengthy! — response to President Barack Obama after he accused her of trying to scare old folks for raising questions about “death panels.”
We’ll get to Palin in just a minute because when she talks, people listen. But first, what are death panels, you might ask?
Well, we read through a section of healthcare legislation being considered by the House of Representatives — section 1233 of H.R. 3200 called Advance Care Planning Consultation. It seems vague enough that you can read into it what you want. We’ll link to the section at the bottom for those who want to read more about it. It would allow Medicare to pay for consultations with physicians about end-of-life care while not requiring them.
The question that opponents seem to be raising is whether under this proposal, seniors would be advised that, if they have only so long to live, maybe they shouldn’t bother trying to get expensive treatment that might extend their lives a little bit. It has scared the dickens out of some seniors who, like everybody, generally want to live as long as possible. 
Obama at a town hall meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on Tuesday said the legislation is only for voluntary informational purposes and that he is not in favor of “pulling the plug on grandma.”
