AAP FACTCHECK – Bill Gates has not called for panels of bureaucrats to decide who is worthy of healthcare and who should be euthanised by the state, despite claims repeated by an Australian Christian lobby group.
The claim is based on a news article from a website known for spreading false news and conspiracy theories.
The claim was posted on the Facebook page of FamilyVoice Australia, a Christian advocacy body.
“Bill Gates Calls for ‘Death Panels’ to Euthanize Citizens Not ‘Worthy of Healthcare’,” the post reads.
It continues: “The Microsoft co-founder argues that it is not cost-effective to provide individuals with long-term healthcare. Instead, Gates believes his fellow human beings should be euthanized to reduce healthcare costs…”
FamilyVoice Australia then provides a link to a story on a site called Slay News, which is a frequent subject of fact checks.
Newsguard, an organisation which rates the reliability and trustworthiness of news websites, has awarded Slay News a rating of 0/100 and has urged internet users to “proceed with maximum caution”.
The article, published January 8 2025, states Mr Gates spoke in favour of death panels at a 2010 appearance at the Aspen Institute Ideas Festival in Colorado.
It claims the tech billionaire said a panel of bureaucrats should decide whether a person deserves to receive treatment, and that those who are not “worthy of healthcare” should be euthanised by the government to save money.
AAP FactCheck asked FamilyVoice Australia for evidence to support the claim.
In response, the group sent a link to an article that also made reference to the same 2010 event, which was written by David Icke who has been fact checked by numerous outlets.
During the hour-long festival appearance, Mr Gates discussed various topics including education and the environment.
From the 31-minute mark he answers a question regarding the proportion of US GDP that goes towards healthcare, during which he makes a reference to “death panels”.
In suggesting high medical costs are having an impact on education funding, he adds: “That’s a trade-off society is making because of very, very high medical costs and a lack of willingness to say, you know, is spending a million dollars on that last three months of life for that patient, would it be better not to lay off those 10 teachers, and to make that trade-off in medical cost.
“But that’s called ‘the death panel’ and you’re not supposed to have that discussion.”
This is the only reference to death panels and Mr Gates does not call for them to be introduced.
Death panels are a myth which have their origins in the US Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, which was passed shortly before the Aspen event.
One part of the legislation referred to allowing doctors to be paid by the federal government for counselling patients about end-of-life options, living wills and more.
Former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin dubbed the proposal a “death panel” and said it would result in bureaucrats deciding who was worthy of health care.
The claim was widely debunked at the time and was named PolitiFact’s “lie of the year” in December 2009.
But even Ms Palin’s incorrect assessment of the proposal did not suggest the panels would decide who the state would euthanize.
The term was well-known and much-ridiculed at the time of Mr Gates’s comments. It was also named one of FactCheck.org’s “Whoppers of 2009” and most outrageous word of the year by the American Dialect Society.
The proposal to allow doctors to be paid by the government for end-of-life counselling was eventually dropped from the act, though a similar rule was approved in 2015, according to PBS news.
A representative for Mr Gates told AAP FactCheck the claim he has called for death panels is false.
Similar claims have also been debunked by outlets including PolitiFact, AFP, and the Associated Press.
The Verdict
False – The claim is inaccurate.
AAP FactCheck is an accredited member of the International Fact-Checking Network. To keep up with our latest fact checks, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
All information, text and images included on the AAP Websites is for personal use only and may not be re-written, copied, re-sold or re-distributed, framed, linked, shared onto social media or otherwise used whether for compensation of any kind or not, unless you have the prior written permission of AAP. For more information, please refer to our standard terms and conditions.
