Posted on 04/30/2009 2:58:28 PM PDT by Bill Dupray
For all those over 65 and voted for the Zero . I wish you luck .
But...having dealt with several family deaths as care provider, financial POA, and Fiduciary there were a lot of unnecessary expenses.
Some, indeed much of what was done with my Mom by the doctors was ethically wrong. They would not explain to her or me from 1991-1993 exactly what amyolotrophic lateral sclerosis entailed. When I finally got to a library computer and input the information, it was already too late. Within 6 months she would be bedridden and then dead within weeks. The day she couldn't walk, wasn't a day she needed an ambulance to the hospital and a weeks stay. Some here would claim I would deny her care or even call me cruel. But if the doctors and hospital has been fully honest with us her last few months of life could have been happy.
My Aunt was diagnosed with brain cancer that has metastasized from her stage 4 lungs. All the chemo really did was make her miserable. She lived another 4 months from diagnosis. She got the very best palliative care I could find.
But I still have that nagging feeling that the doctors lied to her about her chances of recovery. They, in my eyes, pushed treatments they knew would not work. They violated their oaths in order to make money with chemo.
There are two sides to this argument. The first side has to be honest doctors. And yes, under government run health care there will have to choices made, there will be cut off points at which palliative care is initiated. In my experience palliative care was avoided and the end of life was unnecessarily brutal and ugly for people who had the damn free market health insurance. Perhaps the doctors will more forthcoming with their prognosis, more honest with what the path will be like, and instead of being out for the almighty ‘cancer’ dollars look to make those patients last few months as comfortable as possible.
To those who read this post and are shocked, appalled or disgusted...you can KMA. No matter what any of you say the health care system in this country is broken. You don't like the sound of that, but until you've seen what I've seen and walked in my shoes you have no words for me. I've seen the greed of the current system hurt patients, rip apart families, and get paid big bucks for doing it.
Will what 0bama is proposing be worse? Sure it will be. And that is why I think we need to suck it up and have an honest conversation about the monopoly that is health care and health insurance.
No, we haven't had an honest discussion about healthcare in this country. Too bad. Now the socialists are in charge.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.