[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 20095]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          YOU'RE JUST TOO OLD

  (Mr. POE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, when government runs health care, 
senior citizens sometimes are refused treatment because of their age. 
In Sweden, an 83-year-old woman was refused medical surgery by the 
government-run hospital. They said she was just too old for treatment. 
Marianne Skogh had pain and numbness in her legs for 5 years. She 
waited more than a year trying to get approval for back surgery to cure 
the problem. She was rejected by the government. Without the operation, 
she would be living in incredible turmoil. She said, ``What kind of 
life is that?''
  Despite her long wait, Marianne was told her ailment was treatable 
but she was just too old for surgery. The government-run hospital said 
since she had previous heart surgery, they were denying her the back 
surgery. They told her just to take some pain pills. When the pain 
pills didn't help, the government still wouldn't let her have the 
surgery. Marianne ended up paying for the operation herself with some 
private funds and funds she received from friends. She's now pain-free.
  Government-run health care lets bureaucrats decide who receives 
rationed care and who doesn't, who lives and who just dies. And that's 
just the way it is.

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