America Needs to Embrace Death

*But please don't touch mine, no matter how wasteful

(NEWSER) - The brouhaha over mammograms proves that we’ll never corral health care costs for one simple reason: no one wants to give up any care. Intellectually, women may understand that life-threatening breast cancer is pretty rare before age 50, but rare doesn’t mean non-existent. “Many women would rather be safe than sorry,” writes Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post , “and safe costs money.” More»

(NEWSER) - Edward Kennedy’s terminal illness has become a powerful symbol in the health care debate, Politico reports, though not necessarily in the way the Massachusetts senator would like. Although Kennedy recently wrote that he wants all Americans “to get the same treatment that US senators are entitled to,” experts say that cost-saving reform would require patients and caregivers to consider declining the kind of expensive, risky treatment that he has aggressively used on his brain tumor. More»

End-of-life counseling provided in Medicare bill

(NEWSER) - They’re up in arms against it now, but Republicans voted for a measure providing end-of-life counseling in 2003, Amy Sullivan writes for Time. That year’s Medicare prescription drug bill, which boasted support from 204 GOP representatives and 42 senators, offered funding for “counseling the beneficiary with respect to end-of-life issues and care options”—a provision very similar to the current proposal's. More»

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama took the stage in New Hampshire today to set the record straight about Democratic health care reform efforts. Though the crowd was all applause, Obama took on the raucous protests that have characterized recent town halls. “Let's disagree over things that are real, not these wild misrepresentations,” he said, laughing off rumors that the government would set up “death panels that will basically pull the plug on Grandma.” More»

Choice of provider could have big effect on your premiums

(NEWSER) - Yet another factor that could put a crimp in your wallet when it comes to health care: The cost of procedures such as colonoscopies, mammograms, and Pap smears vary wildly across the nation, according to a new report picked up by USA Today . Researchers found that colonoscopies, for instance, could total anywhere between $786 and $1,819, depending on such factors as where you live and whether you have it done in a hospital or a doctor's office. More»