Sunday, August 16, 2009

Dr. "Death Panel" Seems Real Nice And Makes Sense

Ezra Klein in conversation with Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel. The said:

Klein: "Our system is expensive in part because we've refused to choose, because we've refused to answer some of these questions, like how we deal with end-of-life care, or what minimum benefits should be guaranteed to every American. But isn't not answering those questions a sort of answer, too?"

Emanuel:"Yeah. You can't avoid these questions. Even if you don't provide an overt justification for them, you end up making decisions. Sometimes those aren't good decisions, or they're decisions you regret. We had a big controversy in the United States when there were a limited number of dialysis machines. In Seattle, they appointed what they called a "God committee" to choose who should get it, and that committee was eventually abandoned. Society ended up paying the whole bill for dialysis instead of having people make those decisions."

One pet peeve about the Wash Post. At the of this story they have a link to the full interview. It is only one more question. And a throw away question at that, not a big deal just annoying. Sphere: Related Content

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