"But you think that should happen?" Kroft asked.
"I think at some point it has to happen," Byock said.
"Well, this is a version then of pulling Grandma off the machine?" Kroft asked.
"You know, I have to say, I think that's offensive. I spend my life in the service of affirming life. I really do. To say we're gonna pull Grandma off the machine by not offering her liver transplant or her fourth cardiac bypass surgery or something is really just scurrilous. And it's certainly scurrilous when we have 46 million Americans who are uninsured," Byock said.
They can call it whatever they want, but they have just described death panels.
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More enthusiastic pro death-panel propaganda from CBS. “Die, already, Grandma, we can’t afford you because we are taking care of 30 million illegal aliens.” No respect for the aged; no respect for life.
bttt
Dang these old people are expensive. I guess we need to take a look at DEATH and convene a PANEL of experts but “let me make myself clear” there will be no DEATH PANELS. ;-)
So now they’re reducing it to $$$$$$’s.
Couldn’t see that one coming, could we?
So let me see if I have this right:
The medical profession, by prescribing unnecessary treatments, tests, hospital stays, etc ... in a bid to lengthen a life “for another day” (but not actually treat the problem!) cash in for a nice payday
Thus - MEANINGFUL treatment will be denied to those who need it?
That's equivalent to a pacemaker. What they're talking about is questioning the necessity of putting in the equivalent of a pacemaker into someone.
We're not talking life support here.
The question is who is going to do the rationing. I object to the federal govt doing the rationing, but I don't object to them paying for MY needs.
Sadly it does come down to costs and who will make the decisions. Saying we don't want the feds make these decision is fine, but who is?
We can talk about what we don't want but what are we willing to live with? The more local these decisions are the better in my book. By local I mean me, then family, then county if needed and maybe state? The decisions will not be perfect but they for damn sure aren't perfect now.
An interesting observation. Mental health has stayed a local county fiscal repsonsibility here in Iowa and if I remember right, the biggest expense is mental health. I want to say 40-50% but don't know for sure.
I have also observed an ex prisoner receive free cancer treatment and not bother to show up for his appts, continue to smoke and expect me to pay for his motel room when he did go for appts.
The main source of the article, Dr. Ira Byock, seems to have aspirations of being the next Doctor Death. He tries to browbeat one of his patients, Charlie Haggart, into giving up the ghost, but Haggart is having none of it. He wants to live. Byock tries to convince him that his life will have no value, and Haggart replies "It beats second place."
Sometimes the good doctor does get his way, even if he has to "bend the rules a little."
Marcia Klish might have lingered for quite some time in the intensive care unit at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. But Dr. Byock and his team had a number of meetings with her closest friend, Barbara Menchin. She said Klish would not want to be kept alive on machines if there was no meaningful hope of recovery.It was decided the doctors would not try to resuscitate her if her condition worsened, which it soon did.
"Her heart has just flipped into a rhythm that doesn't allow it to beat effectively," Byock told Menchin.
Klish died a few moments later.
Not a great death, because after all, the victim didn't agree to it. But I'm sure they'd score it at least 9.2.
What’s the difference between the Taliban and the Egenicists?
What do you think should be done?
This choice is between me and my physician[s]. I will NOT be told when to go. But I DO want to be told the truth of my situation. And I hope when the time comes I will not be begging to be kept breathing.
Too many people become pawns of the system: its not that they demand to be kept alive so much as the system refuses to let them go. But i certainly do not want a sysem to decide I ain’t worthy.
You tell me I have cancer, then keep me pain free and I’ll fade away. You tell me I have pneumonia, you better be marshalling resouces country wide to cure me.
They want to make the decisions,
they have to be willing to receive the moral criticism.
They just can’t let themselves, however, let the people involved in the situation decide for themselves - that’s a “bigger evil” to them.
Not only that, but it will be just the beginning of population control in the U.S. (Actually, it began with Roe v Wade in 1973)
It also will not require a "death panel". It will come to the point where one person will be able to determine who lives and who dies in any given situation.
I saw this episode on CBS ...one of the interesting things the bureaucrat said was.. that we have to “ration “ care..BUT if you can pay for it yourself or if you have private insurance you can have all the treatment you want..
I had to LOL ..that is the out of the ruling class ..they can pay for it themselves
The rest of us just eat cake