death panel
6
9.6
- noun
- /dɛθ ˈpænəl/
- Jargon
:
panel de muerte
- Now I have cancer, and my doctor tells me the death panel probably won't allow me treatment.
- death panels in the bill
- so-called death panels
- government-run death panels
Examples
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In other words, in Israel they really do have death panels.
Blog text (15) -
There are no death panels spelled out in the Health Care Law.
Blog text (29) -
In the end, no death panel provision was included in the 2010 health law due to these efforts.
Blog text (13) -
Finally, I can choose my own doctor, and there are no "death panels."
Blog text (8) -
I never got the argument about "government death panels" under Obamacare.
Blog text (30) -
Palin cited the British NHS when she originally brought up the "death panel" issue.
Blog text (13) -
Dr. Boustany led the fight to ensure the death panel language and these extreme ideas were excluded from Obamacare.
Blog text (13) -
Patients worry about the impact of a death panel deciding their eligibility for life-saving treatments.
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The debate surrounding death panels intensified as lawmakers considered changes to healthcare policy.
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Many believe that death panels unfairly prioritize financial costs over the lives of patients.
Synonyms
423
3.7
A group of people chosen to judge or discuss something
3
4.4
A group of people who decide what is right in an organization
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is partly compositional: a B1 learner who knows 'death' and 'panel' can infer it refers to a committee concerned with death or end-of-life matters. However, the specific political/pejorative meaning — an authoritative group that decides who will be granted or denied medical care — and its controversial connotations are not fully predictable without exposure, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The term death panel came from U.S. health-care debates, when critics said a new panel, meaning a committee, would decide death, who 'lives' and who 'dies'. That strong image of a committee choosing life or death is why death panel now means a group said to decide who gets 'medical care'.