Former governor of Alaska Sarah Palin once predicted that a day was coming in America when "bureaucrats [would] decide, based on subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether [a person] is worthy of health care." While advocates of Obamacare mock the idea of "death panels," in response to a question by a woman whose 100-year-old mother received a pacemaker, Barack Obama himself admitted that government bureaucrats may one day have to tell elderly people that, in lieu of expensive treatment, "maybe [they're] better off...taking the painkillers." Thus far, "death panels" have not been officially implemented, but a disturbing trend seems to be emerging that should give pause to those advancing in age. Case in point: my 81-year-old mother has a degenerative lung disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which is fatal and has no cure.  Pulmonary fibrosis makes it difficult to breathe or participate in day-to-day activities because simple movement...(Read Full Post)