"Did you know that 85% of all Medicare expenditures are spent on people in their last futile month of life?"
It is true that a significant amount of money is spent on people before they die, and it is true that a portion of that money is spent for futile care in pointless efforts to prolong life. However, it is not true that 85% of Medicare expenses are for people just before they die (no way; the majority of Medicare expenditures, for example - are spent for outpatient and chronic care - not acute inpatient care at all). And, it is not true that all money spent in the final month of life is futile. If you have a stroke or cancer or an aneurism, for example, - it may kill you - and it may not kill you - but in many cases you will only know after treatment whether it was futile or not . . .
Having said that - American's do have unrealistic expectations about the health care system's capability to prolong life. In general, we don't accept death even though the eventual mortality rate for the living is always 100%. Futile efforts to extend life occur primarily because the family members (i.e., we Americans) demand it and we legally have the right to do so and our insurance companies and the government-as-insurer - have little effective recourse to deny such futile treatment.
Tubebender, as you probably know... It is next to impossible to get people to plan and then to reduce plans to writing in legally binding terms and commit to implementation before it's too late... Especially when left up to their own devices and without some serious professional coaching.
Analysis paralysis and procrastination is the rule, rather than the exception, because the only thing worse than fear, is dread!!!