On Fri, 25 Dec 2009 22:44:40 -0500, Gene wrote:


".... has earned a reputation as a place where doctors will go to
virtually any length and expense to try to save a patient’s life. "

This sounds great until you have to admit that an insurance policy isn't
an unlimited blank check. Sooner or later, whoever is "the deep pockets"
is going to start "rationing health care." But let's get real and
evaluate the next sentence.....

“If you come into this hospital, we’re not going to let you die....”

Nothing for nothing, but this sounds like a great *teaching* hospital. I
want a doctor that would take my death personally, not one that asks
"What's for lunch?" as they wheel my body out.

Holy Crap, what incredible impertinence! That is just NOT their
decision. But wait, if you are in a persistent vegetative state, and
they keep your heart beating by extraordinary means..... uh..... you
haven't "died" yet..... right?

At least not until the money runs out and they have to start
rationing...... trust me.... there is NO FREE LUNCH.... and this has
NOTHING to do with humanitarian feelings toward you.... this is a cold,
hard, business decision.....

It is a complex issue, isn't it? As it stands now, end of life spending
is becoming a great transfer of wealth. Spending $100,000s to prolong a
life a week or two, seems pretty silly, but how to you tell if it will be
a couple of weeks or a couple of decades? A doctor should fight for
every second of life. However, as the customer, I should set the
parameters in which he works. Living wills are a good thing.

You mention a "business decision". It seems to me tying health insurance
to business, was a faulty paradigm from the beginning, competitively and
socially. However, health care has the potential of reviving this entire
economy. Health care jobs are well paying and *local*. IMO, they could
provide a replacement for the manufacturing jobs we have lost. Our
medical technology sector, already top of the world, could provide export
dollars. In the public debate, we've been looking at health care as a
drain on the economy. I'm thinking it could save the economy. It's
basic economics, manufacture something of value, and the whole world
values life, at least in theory.