Hospice: 'End Of Life' Controversy Misunderstood

[snoop]

Counseling Would Help Dying Patient Make Own Decisions

POSTED: 8:41 pm CDT August 14, 2009
UPDATED: 10:18 am CDT August 15, 2009


DES MOINES, Iowa -- Confusion and misinformation leads to fear over an end-of-life counseling provision included in the health care reform proposal.

The legislation would allow Medicare to reimburse doctors for voluntary counseling sessions about end-of-life care, but critics have described it as a way to cut costs by encouraging terminal or elderly patients to accept minimal or no care.

The measure has caused so much confusion that key senators have decided to drop it from a version of the health care reform plan up for debate in the Senate.

Supporters of end-of-life counseling said it would save money, but it would also benefit patients.

End-of-life counseling is a common conversation at the Kavanaugh House.

"It's about talking about what they would want, whether that's palliative care or hospice care," said Tray Wade of Hospice of Central Iowa. "Would they want aggressive treatment if they weren't able to communicate what their wishes were?"

Wade said Hospice of Central Iowa's mission is to provide quality of life at the end of life. He said that starts with end-of-life counseling and that it's imperative that Congress include it in the health care bill.

"That misperception that it's about hindering choice or that it's going to speed up the dying process couldn't be further from the truth," Wade said. "It's really about providing all the options so people can make informed decisions."

Iowa Health Home Care nurse Patti Fallert said she agrees.

"This gives them information to make their own choices," Fallert said. "No one's making choices for them. It helps them understand what's available."

She said it's never too early to start these conversations and that patients can change their minds at any time.

"It is about making the most of your life so that when you get to the end, there aren't regrets," she said.

Without end-of-life counseling, Hospice of Central Iowa argues that patients would spend more money and may not receive the best care.

"What happens is you get the extreme cases like Terri Schiavo, where people get care they may not have wanted," Wade said.


Hospice Of Central Iowa's Web site.<!--stopindex-->

 

[kingbill]

It's done intentionally the opponents are spreading disinformation at an insane rate.

 

[barman]

Anyone over the age of 75 (or sooner if you have significant adverse health issues) is smartly served to have a sensible and compassionate suicide plan in place.

Enlisting the support of like-minded friends and family is a key component, as is enlisting the aid of a qualified physician who can help with obtaining needed drugs to better facilitate a peaceful, voluntary transition - with the time chosen by each of us individually.

 

[Mistermj]

It's done intentionally the opponents are spreading disinformation at an insane rate.

Not really...the information is out there.

Some of us make the effort...and some don't.
------------------------------------------------

The AP is technically correct in stating that end-of-life counseling is not the same as a death panel. The New York Times is also correct to point out that the health care bill contains no provision setting up such a panel.

What both outlets fail to point out is that the panel already exists.

H.R. 1 (more commonly known as the Recovery and Reinvestment Act, even more commonly known as the Stimulus Bill and aptly dubbed the Porkulus Bill) contains a whopping $1.1 billion to fund the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research. The Council is the brain child of former Health and Human Services Secretary Nominee Tom Daschle. Before the Porkulus Bill passed, Betsy McCaughey, former Lieutenant governor of New York, wrote in detail about the Council's purpose.

Daschle's stated purpose (and therefore President Obama's purpose) for creating the Council is to empower an unelected bureaucracy to make the hard decisions about health care rationing that elected politicians are politically unable to make. The end result is to slow costly medical advancement and consumption. Daschle argues that Americans ought to be more like Europeans who passively accept "hopeless diagnoses."

McCaughey goes on to explain:

Daschle says health-care reform "will not be pain free." Seniors should be more accepting of the conditions that come with age instead of treating them.


Who is on the Council? One of its most prominent members is none other than Dr. Death himself Ezekiel Emanuel. Dr. Emanuel's views on care of the elderly should frighten anyone who is or ever plans on being old. He explains the logic behind his discriminatory views on elderly care as follows:

Unlike allocation by sex or race, allocation by age is not invidious discrimination; every person lives through different life stages rather than being a single age. Even if 25-year-olds receive priority over 65-year-olds, everyone who is 65 years now was previously 25 years.


On average 25-year-olds require very few medical services. If they are to get the lion's share of the treatment, then those 65 and over can expect very little care. Dr. Emanuel's views on saving money on medical care are simple: don't provide any medical care. The loosely worded provisions in H.R 1 give him and his Council increasing power to push such recommendations.

Similarly hazy language will no doubt be used in the health care bill. What may pass as a 1,000 page health care law will explode into perhaps many thousands of pages of regulatory codes. The deliberate vagueness will give regulators tremendous leverage to interpret its provisions. Thus Obama's Regulatory Czar Cass Sunstein will play a major role in defining the government's role in controlling medical care.

How does Sunstein approach end of life care? In 2003 he wrote a paper for the AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies arguing that human life varies in value. Specifically he champions statistical methods that give preference to what the government rates as "quality-adjusted life years." Meaning, the government decides whether a person's life is worth living. If the government decides the life is not worth living, it is the individual's duty to die to free up welfare payments for the young and productive.

Ultimately it was Obama himself, in answer to a question on his ABC News infomercial, who said that payment determination cannot be influenced by a person's spirit and "that at least we (the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research) can let doctors know and your mom know that...this isn't going to help. Maybe you're better off not having the surgery, but taking the painkiller."

Maybe we should ask the Associated Press and New York Times if they still think we shouldn't be concerned about a federal "death panel."

Page Printed from: http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/08/death_panel_is_not_in_the_bill.html at August 15, 2009 - 06:36:40 AM EDT

 

[Willie99]

It's done intentionally the opponents are spreading disinformation at an insane rate.

the insanity is coming out of the mouth of Obama and his supporters

nothing the retard in chief says is reflected in any of the bills put on the table

everything is easy and painless when he talks, nothing of what he says is remotely connected to reality, never mind an actual bill on the table

it's somewhat amusing so many still swallow his cheap words wholly, without any sign of a gag reflex

 

[barman]

I agree.

With the millions of dollars of lobbying money being poured in by the health insurance sellers, I'm stunned they haven't been able to swing the entire voting population to their version of The Truth. Somehow, people are still giving Obama some ear.


:drink:



ps...TB 7 TEN 3

 

[Willie99]

of course, if it actually cut costs instead of increasing them

if it really did reduce the deficit instead of increasing it

if 80% of Americans weren't happy with their own health care

if it were remotely possible to "cover mo people, reduce expenses while creating the largest bureaucracy in the country, decrease earnings and profit incentives AND STILL INCREASE HEALTH CARE QUALITY" (what's with lefties and their disregard for common sense?)

if it didn't funnel us into a single payer plan

if Obama didn't say "we have too much health care"

if Obama didn't say "he questions giving his elderly ill grandmother a hip replacement"

then the town hall meetings wouldn't be what they are

--------------------------------------------------------------
denial number 21, "it's the insurance companies"

the man getting more exposure than everybody else combined is the retard in chief

lefty arguments are so shallow, so cheap, so intellectually dishonest, so lacking of common sense it's fucking sad in a really scary sort of way.

 

[barman]

Whatever reform is adopted I hope it helps us be in better position the next time one of us has a in-hospital surgery stay.

Last three - while "fully" covered by my wife's employer-supplemented health care coverage - combined to leave us with over $20K in charges.

 

[ElTaino]

It's done intentionally the opponents are spreading disinformation at an insane rate.

in that case i urge you to use

flag@whitehouse.gov

sincerely,

BO

 

[Dave007inVegas]

in that case i urge you to use

flag@whitehouse.gov

sincerely,

BO

:lol: d1g1t <><>

 

[roadreeler57]

Anyone over the age of 75 (or sooner if you have significant adverse health issues) is smartly served to have a sensible and compassionate suicide plan in place.

Enlisting the support of like-minded friends and family is a key component, as is enlisting the aid of a qualified physician who can help with obtaining needed drugs to better facilitate a peaceful, voluntary transition - with the time chosen by each of us individually.

Nobody else has to know... I just hope I can make it to the drug store to make my last purchase of some sleeping pills without anybody else having to know but I think I'll stay around for a long time to bug the Liberals on this forum It's what keeps a porpose to keep healthy & stick around...How in the fuck do you spell Porpose?

 

[barman]

... It's what keeps a porpose to keep healthy & stick around...How in the fuck do you spell Porpose?

Ummm...not sure after reading your first sentence what you're trying to say?

Are we talking about the swimming creature that was on "Flipper"? or are you intending to write about having a life purpose?



===
As for the first part of your post, J - I think given your current age that we can have some positive expectation that you'll live at least another 20+ years.

And during those years it will become more socially acceptable for Americans to plan and carry out a peaceful transistion from this plane of life.

Therefore you should be able to - with reasonable ease - obtain needed drugs to create your own departure cocktail. And those drugs will be far more lethal and "sure" than buying some over the counter sleeping pills today. In the latter case there's too good a chance your body would rebel and you would involuntarily throw up the pills, stay alive and maybe even be partially brain damaged in the process.

 

[roadreeler57]

Ummm...not sure after reading your first sentence what you're trying to say?

Are we talking about the swimming creature that was on "Flipper"? or are you intending to write about having a life purpose?



===
As for the first part of your post, J - I think given your current age that we can have some positive expectation that you'll live at least another 20+ years.

And during those years it will become more socially acceptable for Americans to plan and carry out a peaceful transistion from this plane of life.

Therefore you should be able to - with reasonable ease - obtain needed drugs to create your own departure cocktail. And those drugs will be far more lethal and "sure" than buying some over the counter sleeping pills today. In the latter case there's too good a chance your body would rebel and you would involuntarily throw up the pills, stay alive and maybe even be partially brain damaged in the process.

Uh Oh....Maybe Id better think of something else then huh?...Ok I got it now P-U-R-P-O-S-E Thanks

 

[barman]

RR, will your F150 run without the catalytic converter?

 

[roadreeler57]

RR, will your F150 run without the catalytic converter?

Yeah I think it will ...The resonater is already off & it runs.

 

[TomGshotput]

Chance of death is no longer 100%, according to those against a lot of this sort of treatment

I want to be taken care of in my final days, but if it means taking money away from whatever the hell the government wastes money on now you would think it is as bad as running a dog fighting ring

Stop letting the insurance companies run things, stop giving lots of stuff to a few people while others are forced to pay so far over market value and we could all have appropriate care at all life stages

If you think you could do a better job at health care reform than Obama, that is one thing. To think with the amount of money we already put into health care that anyone should be denied such basic human rights is completely different

 

[barman]

Yeah I think it will ...The resonater is already off & it runs.

Cool. So it emits lethal doses of CO, eh?

Therefore all you need at this point is to never sell that truck, even when you graduate to other Finely Made American vehicles in coming years.

Just make sure it's got a decent battery and that the engine is in sufficient tune that it can idle without shutting down

When you feel your time has come, here's an absolutely fail safe plan.

1) First, compose a detailed Goodbye note to all the people in your life who you feel might overly grieve your choice. Leave it (in individual envelopes) in easy to find view inside the kitchen of your home.

2) Get any domestic pets into the care of someone you can trust. Tell them you're taking a vacation if need be.

3) Bring the truck, with a full tank of gas into as small a garage as possible and be sure that any windows in the garage are nicely sealed. Pull the garage door down and make sure it is also nicely sealed to the pavement. Add a couple of sandbags across the base if you wish to further lock in the room.

4) You'll need to have gotten on hand some Ambien, which is prescribed with ease by any doctor if you just tell them you want some to help you sleep. They'll give you at least a 30 day supply.

For this procedure I'd recommend swallowing about a five day dose.

And I'd suggest washing it down with your favorite adult beverage. A good Irish whiskey would be my suggestion, but I know how stiff you are about buying American, so get yourself some Jim Beam. Knock back your five pills and then pour yourself a nice 16 oz setup into a big ice tea glass, mixed one to one with water over ice.

At this point, time is of the essence, so pay attention and be prepared to as quickly as possible do the following:

Since I figure your truck does not have a CD player, I'd suggest you have on hand most any decent CD player which can run on batteries. Make sure the batteries are fresh.

Start the engine, with the windows of your truck all the way down. You could do the ol' garden hose from the exhaust pipe into the truck cab if you wish, but it's likely ummmmm, well......Overkill, if you don't mind a friendly pun at this point.

Have a couple of pillows and your favorite blanket on hand.

Fire up the CD player with a disc containing at least an hour of your favorite music. Put on the headphones and start drinking your tall glass of Jim Beam.

That's pretty much it.

No one will hold it against you if you don't finish the bourbon and half of it is found spilled on the floor of your truck.

 

[roadreeler57]

Cool. So it emits lethal doses of CO, eh?

Therefore all you need at this point is to never sell that truck, even when you graduate to other Finely Made American vehicles in coming years.

Just make sure it's got a decent battery and that the engine is in sufficient tune that it can idle without shutting down

When you feel your time has come, here's an absolutely fail safe plan.

1) First, compose a detailed Goodbye note to all the people in your life who you feel might overly grieve your choice. Leave it (in individual envelopes) in easy to find view inside the kitchen of your home.

2) Get any domestic pets into the care of someone you can trust. Tell them you're taking a vacation if need be.

3) Bring the truck, with a full tank of gas into as small a garage as possible and be sure that any windows in the garage are nicely sealed. Pull the garage door down and make sure it is also nicely sealed to the pavement. Add a couple of sandbags across the base if you wish to further lock in the room.

4) You'll need to have gotten on hand some Ambien, which is prescribed with ease by any doctor if you just tell them you want some to help you sleep. They'll give you at least a 30 day supply.

For this procedure I'd recommend swallowing about a five day dose.

And I'd suggest washing it down with your favorite adult beverage. A good Irish whiskey would be my suggestion, but I know how stiff you are about buying American, so get yourself some Jim Beam. Knock back your five pills and then pour yourself a nice 16 oz setup into a big ice tea glass, mixed one to one with water over ice.

At this point, time is of the essence, so pay attention and be prepared to as quickly as possible do the following:

Since I figure your truck does not have a CD player, I'd suggest you have on hand most any decent CD player which can run on batteries. Make sure the batteries are fresh.

Start the engine, with the windows of your truck all the way down. You could do the ol' garden hose from the exhaust pipe into the truck cab if you wish, but it's likely ummmmm, well......Overkill, if you don't mind a friendly pun at this point.

Have a couple of pillows and your favorite blanket on hand.

Fire up the CD player with a disc containing at least an hour of your favorite music. Put on the headphones and start drinking your tall glass of Jim Beam.

That's pretty much it.

No one will hold it against you if you don't finish the bourbon and half of it is found spilled on the floor of your truck.

 

[barman]

okay...so I wrote it out in kind of teasing fashion, but it's 100% sincere best way I can think of to voluntarily check out when the time is right.

The CO emissions are just the clincher.

One could pretty much get same results with about a 5x dose of Ambien, 10mg of Xanax (5 pills) and a full pint of whiskey knocked back in 30 minutes, lying in your bed.

 

[brucefan]

Coming soon to a town near you


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8/21 THIS IS CHILLING! Oregon Gives Us A Govt. Health Care Preview

Just one year ago… the state of Oregon offers a cancer patient assisted suicide instead of agreeing to cover her chemotherapy.
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