Re: Mayo Clinic Opposes Obamacare

"Hal Hanig" <halhanig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:wOCdncPVS4JPuvXXnZ2dnUVZ_q6dnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Jean Smith" <gotermite@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:gotermite-C9BB53.01281823072009@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In article <hJ6dnemVrLkmC_rXnZ2dnUVZ_uSdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Islander <nospam@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hal Hanig wrote:

(Snip)

The CEO of Mayo is on Charlie Rose tonight. He says the American Health
Care System can't be fixed, because it doesn't exist. He seems to think
that there are instances of end of life care that aims to keep the
patient comfortably at home conversing with friends and relatives
rather than in the ICU, operating suite and recovery room. Here in the
South a quarter million dollars seems to be a recurring number for the
medical bill to the estate. When I heard about surgery on dying patients,
I used to think that they had found a cure. Now I think someone has cashed
in or used the patient for practice.

I missed it, but he was citing only one aspect of health care that he believes to be wasteful. I wouldn't begin to argue the point with him that performing miracle-seeking surgical procedures or exotic testing on admittedly terminal patients serves little real purpose at pretty great expense.

However, even there, there are ways of coping with such situations that can help markedly restrict that waste. Case in point is my own situation. I am almost 86 years of age and by all accounts have probably done all with my life that I ever could have hoped to accomplish. I have a condition that my specialists tell me is probably terminal. They cannot be sure and advise me that the only way to be sure would be to perform an invasive biopsy procedure. If that's done, they then could develop a course of treatment for me to help me survive (but nobody can tell me for how long). I have prohibited that because I choose to accept my remaining time as it is without the need to become a surgical punching bag just for the unguaranteed possibility that they might add a few days, months or even years to my life. I consider that to be my contribution to saving the surgical heroics for those who have a reasonable expectation of being able to profit from and enjoying it over a far greater period than is realistically available to me.

I think that there are numerous other aspects of health care where the potential of savings are immense. One such, for example, would be in the general area of CYA procedures. Fear of malpractice suits (which is quite real, IMO) prompts the use of excessive testing and procedures by health care practitioners. If some way could be found to limit their exposure to such legal assaults, I believe that much wasteful testing and procedural actions could be avoided and their costs saved.

I can't believe that any practicing health care provider couldn't list another half dozen or dozen similar ways in which costs could be contained far better than they are now. First, however, the President's task force and advisors on the subject need to find a way to tap that mother lode of possibilities which I'm firmly convinced exists as we speak.

Hal



Hi Hal,

Having discussed end of life issues at length on the alzheimer support group for several years now, I can tell you that if you have all your proverbial "marbles" it is a vast difference from taking heroic life prolonging procedures for someone who say..... has alzheimers, or a condition that will definitely bring about someones death anyway sometime soon.

It would seem from reading your posts for a couple of years now, that you definitely have a good mind. Unless a person is in some horrible pain, a little extra length of life might be worthwhile to pursue, especially if you have loved ones who would like you to remain.

What I don't understand is when they take ridiculous measures doing very nearly elective kinds of surgery for a person who has a severely mentally debilitating illness like alzheimers. But they do it sometimes, and it is horrible and inhumane to prolong a persons life when they have a disease like that.

Tube feeding is especially awful. Picture this; A person who is unable to eat at all, so they give them a tube directly into their stomach through the abdominal wall, so they can pump food into them. Fluid into the veins is the same thing. A person who cannot eat or drink due to massive brain damage from an illness who is fed and watered through tubes, is a horror. Yet there are many families who will insist on things like this.

I don't think the government or you and I should have to pay for this kind of thing, nor should an insurance company. We have come to a place in science where we can keep a body alive long after the brain is dead. We have machines to breathe for them, we give them fluids and food when they can no longer eat, and their brains are already shrunken to a fraction of normal size from organic brain illness, yet by nature that person would be allowed to die naturally when these conditions occur in times past. Nowadays their suffering can be prolonged for years on end!

Again, pardon the rant, but I think as long as you have your mind and it is working well, which yours seems to be, you ought to do whatever is recommended to hang around a little longer.
--

Evelyn

"Even as a mother protects with her life her only child, So with a boundless heart let one cherish all living beings." --Sutta Nipata 1.8

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: semi-ot: theyre insane.
    ... England and subject to the British 'free' health care system, ... On the other hand, this "end of life" business, that actually is ... end-of-life care is hospice care. ... I suppose Glenn is one of those innocents who would prefer their health care ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: semi-ot: theyre insane.
    ... England and subject to the British 'free' health care system, ... On the other hand, this "end of life" business, that actually is ... end-of-life care is hospice care. ... I suppose Glenn is one of those innocents who would prefer their health care ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: my story
    ... It sounds like you have good care and a desire to care ... > This journal is my attempt to cope with life as it was, ... > my condition is type 1 diabetes. ... > doctor appointment, as this could be checked as well as my wounds. ...
    (alt.support.diabetes)
  • Re: Giving an application a window icon in a sensible way
    ... I respect your freedom to consider me an idiot. ... without having your life become worse off is the same. ... what does he care if he gets shot in the back? ... Learn to become invulnerable to insults slung your way. ...
    (comp.lang.java.programmer)
  • Re: OT: Youth In Asia
    ... that are mandatory in the proposed bill. ... no code and refuse care; the problem I have with this is the emphasis ... orders regarding life sustaining treatment or similar ...
    (rec.music.beatles)
Loading