A brief story in the Washington Post about a speech given by the US Secretary of Health and Human Services, Mike Leavitt, to some "hospital administrators," about "incorporating living wills into Medicare consultations."
Leavitt said, "It may be that we could build into Medicare a means by which there was a consultation as part of the Medicare physical where the decision [by the patient to sign a living will] could be discussed and potentially made and ... it would not just save families anguish but would likely save the system a remarkable amount of money, allowing that money to be spent in other ways and other places."
The reporter added, "but presumably, if such a proposal is put in place, the government would not spend money keeping alive terminal patients who had filled out living wills rejecting life-prolonging medical care."
This is a despicable example of the slippery slope that having health care run by managers and bureaucrats puts us on. Of course, pressuring people to sign living wills would save money for the government, but at what moral cost?
Leavitt said, "It may be that we could build into Medicare a means by which there was a consultation as part of the Medicare physical where the decision [by the patient to sign a living will] could be discussed and potentially made and ... it would not just save families anguish but would likely save the system a remarkable amount of money, allowing that money to be spent in other ways and other places."
The reporter added, "but presumably, if such a proposal is put in place, the government would not spend money keeping alive terminal patients who had filled out living wills rejecting life-prolonging medical care."
This is a despicable example of the slippery slope that having health care run by managers and bureaucrats puts us on. Of course, pressuring people to sign living wills would save money for the government, but at what moral cost?
Princess Health and US HHS Secretary Wants to Use Living Wills to Save Money.Princessiccia
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