Ezekiel Emmanuel-Health Care Adviser--What's The Fuss

Obama's health care adviser is his chief of staff's brother--Ezekiel Emmanuel.   

Ezekiel Emmanuel came on board on Feb '09 to form a national healthcare strategy. He is a special advisor to the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget for health policy. He is by the way the brother of White House chief-of-staff  Rahm Emmanuel.  The fuss is because just a month before coming on board in January '09,  Dr. Emanuel co-wrote an article entitled Re-allocation of Scarce Medical Resources on the British Journal The Lancet.  Here are excerpts from that article he co-authored.  Here in particular are two excerpts about the complete lives system --to achieve just allocation of scarce  medical interventions-click here for the full article.  Read for yourself.

"Consideration of the importance of complete lives also

supports modifying the youngest-fi rst principle by

prioritising adolescents and young adults over infants

(fi gure). Adolescents have received substantial education

and parental care, investments that will be wasted without

a complete life."

"When implemented, the complete lives system produces

a priority curve on which individuals aged between

roughly 15 and 40 years get the most substantial chance,

whereas the youngest and oldest people get chances that

are attenuated (fi gure)"

 For information on other so called advisers to the pres --rather czars--here is link to great insight on them--makes you wonder why are they taking over Congress job?