Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook

Uproar After NC State Agent 'Fixes' Girl's Lunch Preschooler has to eat chicken nuggets instead of mom's meal »

America Needs to Embrace Death

Lowering health care costs means cutting unnecessary end-of-life treatment

By Drew Nelles, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 13, 2009 1:26 PM CDT

(Newser) – Nobody wants to talk about rationing health care, but “the need to spend less money on the elderly at the end of life is the elephant in the room in the health-reform debate,” Evan Thomas writes in Newsweek. To expand coverage and lower costs, Americans must overcome their urge to extend life at any price, and “learn to contemplate death as more than a scientific challenge to be overcome.”

There are concrete American success stories that show the way: a Massachusetts hospital keeps elderly patients in constant contact with nurses to drive down costly doctors’ visits, while a Wisconsin program encourages patients to make early decisions about end-of-life treatment to cut unwanted procedures. Thomas’ mother, for example, was over-treated until she finally insisted on dying in a hospice. “My mother wanted to die,” he writes, “but the doctors wouldn't let her.”

A clinic at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver, BC allows health care specialists to coordinate the treatment of patients with complex chronic illnesses to improve the quality of care and reduce costs. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darryl Dyck)

Dee Jollie, a resident of Greenspring retirement community, discusses her thoughts on health care reform at the retirement community in Springfield, Va. Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Roberta Crawford, 89, wears a sticker in support of single payer health care during the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans fifth annual town hall meeting on health care reform. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Hospitals Stuck With 'Permanent Patients'

Illegal immigrants, those without insurance, cost millions to care for

(NEWSER) - Look long enough in most hospitals, and you’ll probably find some decidedly unwelcome guests. Hospitals, particularly those in urban centers like New York, are faced with a growing burden from so-called “permanent patients,” who hospitals are stuck caring for even though they are well enough to be released, the New York Times reports. Hospitals by law cannot release a patient to a shelter or to the streets, so if patients have nowhere to go the hospital is stuck keeping them—and footing the bill. More»

Dummy Firms Squeeze Millions From Medicare

Fraud-fighters finding it hard to stay ahead of shell companies

(NEWSER) - Fraudsters using complicated networks of ghost companies are sucking hundreds of millions of dollars out of Medicare every year and it's a bit like taking candy from a baby, a Reuters investigation finds. The probe—which officials say will likely lead to a criminal investigation of the firms involved—found that the "companies" of many Medicare providers are registered to nonexistent addresses, or the addresses of abandoned buildings. The thieves use stolen doctor and patient data to bill Medicare for as much money as possible in a short time. More»

White House Gives States More Say on Health Law

Proposal would let them determine 'essential benefits'

(NEWSER) - In a potentially big shift, the White House is poised to give states much more flexibility on how to implement a key part of health care reform. Under a proposal outlined by health chief Kathleen Sebelius, the federal government would largely let states determine what "essential health benefits" would be offered to residents and businesses come 2014. The New York Times calls it a "major surprise," and NPR says it "may or may not be a punt." More»

Gingrich Backed Individual Health Care Mandate

And other big government programs that benefited his clients: NYT

(NEWSER) - These days, like most Republicans, Newt Gingrich says he's opposed to the individual mandate in the Democrats' health care reform bill, which forces Americans to hold insurance. But in a May 2009 conference call with health care executives, Gingrich sang a very different tune, the New York Times has learned. "We believe there should be must-carry; that is, everybody should have health insurance," Gingrich said, "or, if you're an absolute libertarian, we would allow you to post a bond." More»

Health Reform Insured 2.5M Young People

Coverage up among 19- to 25-year-olds, now eligible for parents' insurance

(NEWSER) - Roughly 2.5 million people between the ages of 19 and 25 have gained health insurance since President Obama signed his health care reform bill, more than double the 1 million the White House had been expecting, according to a new administration analysis. The bump is almost entirely due to a provision in a law that allows young people to remain on their parents' coverage until age 26. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

America Needs to Embrace Death

Lowering health care costs means cutting unnecessary end-of-life treatment

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

health care • health care costs • death • rationing • health care reform • death panel • end-of-life care

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Hospitals Stuck With 'Permanent Patients'

Illegal immigrants, those without insurance, cost millions to care for

Dummy Firms Squeeze Millions From Medicare

Fraud-fighters finding it hard to stay ahead of shell companies

White House Gives States More Say on Health Law

Proposal would let them determine 'essential benefits'

Gingrich Backed Individual Health Care Mandate

And other big government programs that benefited his clients: NYT

Health Reform Insured 2.5M Young People

Coverage up among 19- to 25-year-olds, now eligible for parents' insurance

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?

America Needs to Embrace Death

Lowering health care costs means cutting unnecessary end-of-life treatment

Bookmark & Share

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

health care • health care costs • death • rationing • health care reform • death panel • end-of-life care

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Hospitals Stuck With 'Permanent Patients'

Illegal immigrants, those without insurance, cost millions to care for

Dummy Firms Squeeze Millions From Medicare

Fraud-fighters finding it hard to stay ahead of shell companies

White House Gives States More Say on Health Law

Proposal would let them determine 'essential benefits'

Gingrich Backed Individual Health Care Mandate

And other big government programs that benefited his clients: NYT

Health Reform Insured 2.5M Young People

Coverage up among 19- to 25-year-olds, now eligible for parents' insurance

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?