Sunday, August 23, 2009
Center for Global Health at CU Denver
There is a Center for Global Health at CU. Director is Cal Wilson, MD. It is a great local secret!
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Physician assisten suicide is getting closer
This shocked me. Two patients on Oregon's Medicaid (i.e., government) health plan received letters that the plan would not pay for their chemotherapy, but WOULD pay for barbiturates to end their life. Oregon is one of two states that have legalized Physician Assisted Suicide.
Go with me on this. If you believe that the government should run healthcare and that cost containment is important, what argument can you give in our secular public square that physician assisted suicide is not a great option? There are people out there who would save their dog before saving a human. Sedatives, less than a hundred bucks vs treatment of hundreds to thousands a month. "Care at the end of life costs way too much for too little benefit." So slip Granny a mickey and say goodbye. Oh, and also, that way she won't spend the kids inheritance on her long term care. Everybody wins (except granny, and after all she's had a good long life...)
"That would never happen in the United States." Tell that to the patients in Oregon. They had to go to the news to get treated.
Go with me on this. If you believe that the government should run healthcare and that cost containment is important, what argument can you give in our secular public square that physician assisted suicide is not a great option? There are people out there who would save their dog before saving a human. Sedatives, less than a hundred bucks vs treatment of hundreds to thousands a month. "Care at the end of life costs way too much for too little benefit." So slip Granny a mickey and say goodbye. Oh, and also, that way she won't spend the kids inheritance on her long term care. Everybody wins (except granny, and after all she's had a good long life...)
"That would never happen in the United States." Tell that to the patients in Oregon. They had to go to the news to get treated.
