Post by faithinhim on Mar 23, 2013 15:32:24 GMT -5
Why we need ‘death panels’ 
Posted on March 22, 2013 by END TIME HEADLINES
Image: Wheelchair © Image Source, Getty ImagesMiyamoto Musashi was a serious man. The warrior-poet walked the medieval Japanese countryside seeking duels with the strongest warriors he could find. He lived a pure ascetic existence. He didn’t care where he slept. He carried no money or food. And when too old to fight, after a life on the edge of mortality, he wrote philosophy in a cave. So, pretty much the exact opposite of the modern American lifestyle. Yet as our country grapples with a dangerous debt/deficit problem, caused by demographic challenges and an overpriced and inefficient health care system, we should pay heed to two of Musashi’s most important precepts. The first is to do nothing that is of no use. The second is to accept death in the midst of life. In other words, Musashi would probably support “death panels” — the concept of end-of-life counseling — to guide treatment for the terminally ill. So do I. Here’s why. First, we need to remember where the term “death panel” came from. The idea had fairly broad support until funding for it was included in Obamacare. Opponents framed it as government bureaucrats pulling the plug on grandma (when it was really about doctors being realistic with patients), and amid a backlash, it was pulled. That was stupid. These questions demand far more serious discussion. The fact is, 25% of all Medicare spending goes to the 5% of recipients who die each year –with 80% of that in the last two months of life. This is aggressive spending on things like stays in intensive care and critical care units, which research has shown do not meet the needs and preferences of terminal patients despite its increasing use. Especially when combined with the growing evidence supporting the benefits of less-expensive, palliative hospice care that allows people to enjoy their last days on this earth in peace at home, not poked, prodded and intubated, floating in and out of consciousness under the fluorescent lights of a $30,000-a-night hospital room. MSN
Posted on March 22, 2013 by END TIME HEADLINES
Image: Wheelchair © Image Source, Getty ImagesMiyamoto Musashi was a serious man. The warrior-poet walked the medieval Japanese countryside seeking duels with the strongest warriors he could find. He lived a pure ascetic existence. He didn’t care where he slept. He carried no money or food. And when too old to fight, after a life on the edge of mortality, he wrote philosophy in a cave. So, pretty much the exact opposite of the modern American lifestyle. Yet as our country grapples with a dangerous debt/deficit problem, caused by demographic challenges and an overpriced and inefficient health care system, we should pay heed to two of Musashi’s most important precepts. The first is to do nothing that is of no use. The second is to accept death in the midst of life. In other words, Musashi would probably support “death panels” — the concept of end-of-life counseling — to guide treatment for the terminally ill. So do I. Here’s why. First, we need to remember where the term “death panel” came from. The idea had fairly broad support until funding for it was included in Obamacare. Opponents framed it as government bureaucrats pulling the plug on grandma (when it was really about doctors being realistic with patients), and amid a backlash, it was pulled. That was stupid. These questions demand far more serious discussion. The fact is, 25% of all Medicare spending goes to the 5% of recipients who die each year –with 80% of that in the last two months of life. This is aggressive spending on things like stays in intensive care and critical care units, which research has shown do not meet the needs and preferences of terminal patients despite its increasing use. Especially when combined with the growing evidence supporting the benefits of less-expensive, palliative hospice care that allows people to enjoy their last days on this earth in peace at home, not poked, prodded and intubated, floating in and out of consciousness under the fluorescent lights of a $30,000-a-night hospital room. MSN