Week 10 discussion
End of Life Care
End of life care and treatment is a sensitive subject to
discuss but must be addressed by our health care field and society due to the
exorbitant costs it has on the health care system, especially Medicare, which
is a public health insurance. According to “The Dartmouth Institute”
(2013), Medicare spending per patient, in the last two years of life went from
$60,694 in 2007 to $69,947 in 2010. On top of that, it is estimated that one-quarter
of all Medicare payments are for end of life care and treatment, which is about
$50 billion with the majority of costs being paid out for the last two months
of the patients’ care and treatments.
There have been ethical calls to limit the amount of payment
Medicare will provide to extend a patient’s life for another six to twelve
months. Should there be a financial limit for Medicare in these situations? Why
or why not, and if so, what should it be? Should money be diverted from end of
life care and treatment for seniors and be used on infant and childhood care?
Will an advance health care directive (otherwise known as a living will)
resolve this problem? Why or why not?
