Death of LARRY MILLER generates reflection on End of Life costs

Here are four paragraphs of an interesting article published in the Deseret News on 14 February 2009, nearly a week before the death of Larry Miller on 20 February 2009.

“Members of the Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee have been getting deeper into the bang-for-the buck minutia than any previous oversight panel. In committee and in the Capitol hallways, talk sways toward the financial well-being of the entire system and big picture questions:

“Why does 33 cents of every medical care dollar go for end-of-life interventions that usually just prolong imminent death?

“Should Utah adopt the Oregon health care system model and prioritize procedures the state will and won't pay for and stick to it?

“Care providers have told committee members that doctors are borderline miraculous at extending existence, but that doing so is often tantamount to holding a soap bubble on a grappling hook. "My brother tells of elderly folks during his residency of being kept on life support for months and months because their children felt it was their moral duty to keep them alive," he said, noting that there is compelling duty as well to at least consider the expense of that kind of care.”
End of quotations


RIGHT ASCENSION OBSERVATIONS:

The Miller family owns auto dealerships and a professional basketball team, which means that it has increased costs and reduced revenues during the great 2008 - 2009 economic depression.

A few days after these words appeared, Larry Miller died after months of bad health evolving into failing health. It would be darned interesting to see know much the Millers and their insurance organizations paid for his long and unsuccessful siege of end-of-life care. Of course, the Millers have the money to spend, which means few are loath to discuss the ethical and / or economic issues involved in this particular end-of-life situation.

Why is it that we make these economic distinctions only with middle class or poor old patients? We should not.