HomeI went on Medicare in December. I have had two surgeries to my liver since going on Medicare. It cost over a hundred thousand dollars. I have at most one year to live. If I live two years, or I die in six months because I did not have those surgeries......how does a society make these choices?
We heard about the horrors of death panels in the ACA. These were lies. However, the concept needs to be addressed, and not in an ad hoc or random way. As a society we need to set limits on Medicare coverage. I think this is a toxic subject to be debated in Congress, but if they do not have the gonads, then medical panels must be established which set limits on the type of care of end of life elder care. I would be very sad to lose six months of life, but at what cost can society pay for the same? It is an unpleasant discussion but I remember my uncle three years ago having this scumbag doctor come in and try to convince my cousin for him to have an operation which could give him thirty more days. I left the hospital room because I was so mad, but it was not my place. My cousin who worked her way up from an operator for Bell South to top management with Bell South took control of the situation and asked that my uncle be made comfortable, but he will have no more intrusions or medical procedures. He died six hours later. This ethical discussion must be part of any health care reform. I am not suggesting somebody put me on an iceberg, but I am simply asking that rules need to be established to stop a blank check in end of life treatment. The whole system could collapse without the same.
We heard about the horrors of death panels in the ACA. These were lies. However, the concept needs to be addressed, and not in an ad hoc or random way. As a society we need to set limits on Medicare coverage. I think this is a toxic subject to be debated in Congress, but if they do not have the gonads, then medical panels must be established which set limits on the type of care of end of life elder care. I would be very sad to lose six months of life, but at what cost can society pay for the same? It is an unpleasant discussion but I remember my uncle three years ago having this scumbag doctor come in and try to convince my cousin for him to have an operation which could give him thirty more days. I left the hospital room because I was so mad, but it was not my place. My cousin who worked her way up from an operator for Bell South to top management with Bell South took control of the situation and asked that my uncle be made comfortable, but he will have no more intrusions or medical procedures. He died six hours later. This ethical discussion must be part of any health care reform. I am not suggesting somebody put me on an iceberg, but I am simply asking that rules need to be established to stop a blank check in end of life treatment. The whole system could collapse without the same.
Your life has value and as a society we do realize that.
