Posted on 08/15/2009 5:14:52 AM PDT by libstripper
Some years ago, when I was a slip of a lad, I found myself commiserating with a distinguished American songwriter about the death of one of his colleagues. My 23-year old girlfriend found all the condolence talk a bit of a bummer and was anxious to cut to the chase and get outta there. "Well," she said breezily. "He had a good innings. He was 85."
"That's easy for you to say," he said. "I'm 84."
(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...
Years ago when my grandpa was visiting us, (he was 89 at the time), in a discussion he said “all I want is TEN more years”. He wasn’t ready to cash in just yet. I thought at the time “what an incredible statement to make at his age. He died at 92. He had prostate cancer and diabetes for about 15 years. Should he not have been treated?
My brother in-law, may God rest his soul, died of cancer. While he was not elderly, he did eat up a large amount of health care dollars. After treatment, (while he never returned completely to his former physical self), he lived 10 quality years and fathered 3 more children. Worth the money? I NEVER want a government bureaucrat deciding who deserves to live and who doesn’t.
Money quote. Wish it would fit on a bumper sticker!
It's the same old, liberal line: "caring" is all that counts. It doesn't matter what the outcome happens to be. Only the intent matters.
As for me, when I go to the doctor, I want results not sympathy.
I am very conflicted by this. My father-in-law died last week after fighting leukemia for 18 months. He also had heart trouble. The amount of money spent by Medicare was incredible but the level of medical treatment was incredible too. I would guess that the bill could have easily been half a million dollars. He was able to make his own decisions so it is not for me to judge his quality of life. And I only geve my opinion when asked.
However; there was something very un-natural about his last 5 months when the doctors said that there was nothing more that they could do. They kept him alive for 5 months by giving weekly blood transfusions. He was in incredible pain, could not get around, had horrible rashes, had zero antibodies so he could not go anywhere. But the whole thing was his call, eventhough he knew it was only buying a few extra weeks. It was also torture on the family to see him go this way.
This experience has been a lesson for me. When I’m 85, I do not intend to linger in pain without dignity. (But I reserve the right to change my mind when I’m 84.)
Lies, damn lies, and statistics. Urkel is a pathological liar. Steyn needs to give Urkel a verbal tongue lashing in front of a camera.
Mark is proving each day to be a powerful researcher as well as writer. He may have research staff helping him but it is his ability to cull the facts and assemble them in a populist column that stands out.
Because I am more knowledgeable than most about medicine in the USA, it is difficult to impress me with commentary about the general standard of USA healthcare delivery.
Mark has just impressed the hell-out-of-me.
We bring in 1.2 million LEGAL IMMIGRANTS ANNUALLY, most of whom are poor and uneducated. They will use our social welfare programs almost twice as much as the native born. We are importing poverty.
The US is the world's largest debtor nation. We have lived beyond our means and are now beginning to pay the price. By 2016, SS goes into the red and Medicare will go bust in a decade. Obamacare will add a huge entitlement program bigger than Medicare and SS combined. Our entitlement programs represent an unfunded liability of close to $60 trillion.
I can see the entitlement programs becoming means tested in terms of benefits. We are already heading that way with Medicare Part B.
The net result of all of this is that they US will no longer be a superpower. We will have to choose between guns and butter and butter will win out.
LOL!!
My pop said..."Never, say never!"
Teri Schaivo's family might dispute you on that one.
>>However; there was something very un-natural about his last 5 months when the doctors said that there was nothing more that they could do. They kept him alive for 5 months by giving weekly blood transfusions. He was in incredible pain, could not get around, had horrible rashes, had zero antibodies so he could not go anywhere. But the whole thing was his call, eventhough he knew it was only buying a few extra weeks. It was also torture on the family to see him go this way.
This experience has been a lesson for me. When I’m 85, I do not intend to linger in pain without dignity. (But I reserve the right to change my mind when I’m 84.)>>
My father was 52 when he died.
In end stage cancer, the doctors said that he was to be brought in every time he “had a problem” and they would continue chemo and do what they could.
My dad said no. He wanted to die at home. They said he could have six months with luck. He refused their timeline and died after a month. But at home, where he wanted to be.
I will do the same. But it needs to be OUR choice. Not by guilt on draining the system but rather for love of those who suffer with us.
Many issues here that you raise.
First understand that medical clinics have to do what they do to stay in business. The overhead can approach 90% in certain practices especially where Medicare is involved.
1. Once an MD has accepted a patient into their practice, they cannot refuse to see the patient unless there are warnings and good reasons for dismissal.
2. Patients can be less than 65 years when an MD first starts treating them. Once they turn 65 they are required to be under Medicare and the MD cannot turn them away.
3. Medicare reimbursements are whatever the US Govt decides they will be on a monthly basis, and they often not enough to cover the costs of the clinic. Hence, the clinic billing will often ‘double down’ and throw every billing code at the highest level at the US Govt. Because otherwise the doctor can find themselves working for less than minimum wage and often at a loss. And this is not a rare event. In fact it is an expected reality unless something is done to avoid it.
4. When a medical practice becomes a geriatric practice, that is when the MD has been in practice long enough to see many of their patients get on medicare (see no. 2 above), then the practice will start to fail financially. There are only two solutions, retire or relocate. Such practices can’t be sold because they are worthless. Doctors in such clinics that retire or move will try to find their patients continued care but in general it’s a farewell letter with “I will try my best to find you a provider” etc.
So to recap, understand that your observation of the “amount of money spent by Medicare” is a battle between a poor healthcare manager (the US Govt) and the US health industry.
So the question is who is at fault, who is to win?
If the govt wins, they will indeed as Mark Steyn so well expresses provide ‘care’ more often than ‘treatment’.
The US socialist govt is losing the battle with the elderly so they want to take over the entire industry so that MDs cannot escape them by retiring or moving. If they succeed, they will own the doctors and dictate medical policy. The doctor will no longer have our interest in mind but that of the government.
It reminds me of the Canadian who called into Seattle talk radio to comment about Canada Care. He was happy to be covered. He was asked if he was getting treatment for his ailment. He said no, that he was on a waiting list. When asked why that was a good thing, he replied because he was covered. How long had he been waiting? Over a year. How long would he wait in the USA? A day.
So as long as someone thinks they are covered, it is better than getting treatment.
Back to your father-in-law, the US healthcare systen is the most advanced because it ‘strives’, it pulls out all stops to save someone. It must for two reasons, pride of profession and the threat of a kick in the *ss by the legal establishment.
As for solutions to the high billing and cost of healthcare, it is best done outside the lame current govt proposals. The solutions that have merit are:
1. Ability to purchase health insurance across state lines.
2. Longterm 20 year health insurance policies.
3. Business and personal tax credits and deductions for medical clinics and providers who see uncovered patients.
These are but a few items that could go a long ways towards eliminating the high-billing shock of the current system.
I’m an MD/PhD. Ex was an MD practicing for many years. Most friends and colleagues connected to health.
Very good article by Mark Steyn. Thanks for posting.
Those with non-surgical obotomies stand in this line and sign your declaration of dependence, “In the end...”
Absolute ZERO will make sure that it is painless. /sarcasm
This is something I wish Mark would have pointed out in the article. Illegal aliens detract from the life expectancy in the US. They come here, many sick already and most have never had decent medical care. They are sick and they die younger than American born, and legal resident, citizens, this takes away from our life expectancy. Another thing I would like to know, do abortions count towards "Infant Mortality Rate"? If so then they would have a very negative effect on our life expectancy figures.
I understand your point but based on what I’ve seen, I’d take the 60 year old.
I agree, most 20 somethings don't know $h!t from apple-butter even though they posses a college degree in "analysis and synthesis" (four years totally wasted, both literally and figuratively!)
Regards,
GtG
Our 11 yo daughter has cancer and is due for radiation therapy next week. At our initial visit with the Radiation Oncologist, I was surprised to meet a French Canadian. I asked him what brought him here and he responded that he couldn’t practice in Canada in good faith. His patients have to wait so long for his services that the tumors are frequently too advanced to treat.
Immigration, legal and illegal, has had and will continue to have a major and far-reaching impact across a broad spectrum of existential challenges that confront this nation, e.g., national security, the economy/global competitiveness, jobs, health care, taxes, energy independence, education, entitlement reform, law enforcement, social welfare programs, physical infrastructure, the environment, civil liberties, and a continued sense of national identity/shared sense of endeavor. Immigration is the defining issue of our time with enormous implications for the future of this nation and the preservation of our patrimony. Yet, seldom will you hear immigration mentioned by our political and intellectual elites in connection with these challenges.
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