Mark Halperin on Tuesday sought to clarify his comments about “death panels” in the Affordable Care Act.
In a pair of tweets, Halperin said he does not believe the health care law contains “death panels,” but said the Independent Payment Advisory Board faces political challenges ahead. He quoted former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D), who called the board “essentially a health-care rationing body.” But the Affordable Care Act explicitly bars the IPAB from rationing care.
In Mon intv I did not say “death panels” nor do I believe ACA contains them. Was speaking of political/policy challenge of IPAB cuts. My bad
— Mark Halperin (@MarkHalperin) November 26, 2013
Howard Dean: “The IPAB is essentially a health-care rationing body.” Again, not endorsing that view, but shows coming political challenge
— Mark Halperin (@MarkHalperin) November 26, 2013
During an interview on Monday, Halperin seemed to agree with right-wing shock jock Steve Malzberg’s assertion that “there will be rationing, a.k.a ‘death panels.'”
“It’s built into the plan. It’s not like a guess or like a judgment. That’s going to be part of how costs are controlled,” Halperin said in the interview.
