A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Medicare end of life spending

Posted: Dec 11, 2012

Original thread is getting pretty far down and I am curious because I have yet to hear a politican other than Mitch Daniels bring up this issue without screaming about killing grandma or using death panels. When Medicare spends 25% of it's resources on end of life treatment then it's time for everyone to discuss this issue in a reasonable fashion. Personally, and as one who is on Medicare, I feel that everyone who applies should have to include their advanced directives which would go into a national database. I would not attempt to coerce anyone to be a DNR, but I think a great many seniors, like me, would choose comfort care and save Medicare a bundle. So I'm asking - where and by whom have you heard this discussed lately?;

Daily, but not in the context of Medicare - DNR/DNI, nm

[ In Reply To ..]

Oabo, Obamacare already includes provision for counseling - people on end-of-life issues and

[ In Reply To ..]
encouraging them to decide on advance directives--without forcing them to choices they weren't ready to make. This became part of our national discussion when it was mischaracterized by reform opponents as "death panels" that would decide when we had to die.

As it has been, though, as we all know, the more life is drawn out, the more the money the healthcare industry makes off patients. Many, many studies have been done on this.

If patients have private insurance and no advance directives, then the insurance companies start acting like death panels, whether they want to or not, trying to limit the ability of providers to use patients to milk them for increased profits. The insurance industry, as well as others, has done tons of studies on this problem.

Most end-of-life patients have some or all government insurance, though, and just a little reading on the subject will show you that government healthcare experts are, well, THE experts on the enormous problem end-of-life care is for both the patients and the nation. They're hardly the last to become aware of it. :)

An incredible amount of attention from all viewpoints, including patient, by experts in academia, private think tanks, civil rights and legal groups, the healthcare industry, and the government has been given to all aspects of eldercare. And, yes, it is definitely being addressed as a big part of both improving healthcare and bringing healthcare costs under control.

Thanks, but - oabo

[ In Reply To ..]
I am well aware that health professionals have studied and discussed this. What I am referring to is an open political discussion and, as I mentioned, the only politician I have heard bring this up in the context of a political campaign is Mitch Daniels. Don't agree with him on most things but give him credit for that one. I am also aware of what the private insurance industry does.

Well, I'm sure not surprised none cared to hit this subject - while running for office. Which position

[ In Reply To ..]
would be more fun to try to defend--insisting we need to cut our deficit by helping people die sooner or insisting any attempt to do that would be Terri Schiavo-type murder? :)

Exactly the point I was trying to make - old and burned out

[ In Reply To ..]
Obviously a very difficult subject but when 25% of all Medicare spending is on end of life, it's something, as a society, we need to address. I think if adding advanced directives to requirements for Medicare eligibility were accomplished, many would choose comfort care for end of life but no politician will touch it.

Some DO touch it, though, and even take public - positions. Usually via written word,

[ In Reply To ..]
which is more likely to bypass the excitable and reach the thoughtful. Read thoughtful journals and you'll see them. Forget MSNBC, Fox, CNN, or any other medium that's about attracting the greatest number of viewers and thus raising advertising revenues.

Similar Messages:

Jul 23, 2010
$604,000 on bottled water? Apparently no drinking fountains in congress, hey? Just some interesting (infuriating) numbers here! http://www.aolnews.com/house-money/article/congress-spent-604000-on-bottled-water-397000-on-catering/19541719 ...

Apr 23, 2013
voice therapy for transgenders. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the public sits on tarmacs waiting to take off. But take heart!! They leave the engines on while you wait an hour and a half or more - that way they can pollute the environment without even going anywhere! Way to go, Barry. ...

Oct 26, 2012
I might be the only one, but this leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The amount of money spent campaigning in this country is ridiculous. And for what? Do those ads even do anything? Do they change peoples' minds? I don't think they do. All they ever seem to me is a childish tit-for-tat that makes us all look stupid. It just feels like both sides are trying to create the ultimate Hollywood film, and whoever's movie is better wins the prize. I'm aw ...

May 01, 2014
This is the biggest spike in health care spending since 1980 and not just reported by "Faux" News (hate to disappoint y'all)... Take your pick of links: http://news.investors.com/politics-obamacare/043014-698989-gdp-01-gain-health-care-spending-jumps-on-obamacare.htm http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20140430/NEWS/304309965/reform-update-new-economic-data-suggest-spike-in-health-spending http://www.californiahealthline.org/articles/2014/5/1/health-care-spending-up-by-99-reach ...

Mar 08, 2011
The first links is the House Appropriations document showing spending cuts and most show the reasons for the cuts. http://www.majorityleader.gov/uploadedfiles/FY2011_SUMMARY.pdf The second link shows the comparison from 2010 and the President's cuts. Note the differences on that. http://www.majorityleader.gov/uploadedfiles/FY2011CR_SUBCOM.pdf The third link shows the cuts inacted in 2010 and those requested for 2011. http://www.majorityleader.gov/uploadedfiles/FY2011_CUTS ...

Apr 24, 2010
We really need a left/right alliance on the issue of transparency. After looking at some of the posts in the comments section, that may be possible. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/22/dodd-bill-would-allow-fed_n_548588.html ...

Mar 14, 2012
There is an official spreadshet of government spending at http://www.fms.treas.gov/mts/MTS.xls. This should be examined before making false claims such as those that come from the right-wing echo chamber of late. This spreadsheet shows that George H.W. Bush spent over $19 trillion during his 2 terms. So far, Obama has spent $1.2 trillion. Hmmmm..... If we take the record back to 1980, the federal government has expended more than $45 trillion. Hhhmmmm.&nb ...

Jul 10, 2010
Obama: Let’s spend $2 billion to create 5100 jobs Share301 posted at 11:00 am on July 3, 2010 by Ed Morrissey printer-friendly And I thought Barack Obama’s response to the jobs numbers yesterday was clueless. Obama proposed spending $800 million to create 5,000 jobs, which would install broadband technology where it hasn’t already expanded because of demand, which will cost $160,000 per job. Today, Obama has refined his approach in his weekly address, pr ...

Sep 14, 2012
Here's a great NY Times article "Even Critics of Public Safety Net Increasingly Dependent on It." It has a lot of information about what's been happening to incomes (dropping), expenses, and population and an interactive map of US public spending. Note, there's lots of information to support different viewpoints here. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/us/even-critics-of-safety-net-increasingly-depend-on-it.html "One of the oldest criticisms of democracy is that the p ...

Mar 06, 2013
Republicans passed it. Democrats were against it because it still included the $85 billion sequester dollars. "The Senate isn't going to accept this bill," Senate Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said during debate. Despite Democratic complaints, the House passed the bill easily in a 267-151 vote in which 53 Democrats supported it, likely because it will help avoid a government shutdown. Just 14 Republicans voted against it. Dems wanted Sequester, now they don't! ...

Dec 31, 2009
Obama promised hope and change, but what Americans have gotten is hoax and chains. Perhaps the Glib One misspoke...or his Teleprompter malfunctioned. Whatever the case, more of your tax dollars (or dollars that will be borrowed from China, actually, because your tax dollars are GONE) are going to this sort of thing, tacked onto the Defense funding bill. This nefarious practice is done so that Republicans are forced to vote for the pork or vote against funding the military: $5 milli ...

Sep 13, 2012
The House voted Thursday to put the government on autopilot for six months, precluding a shutdown through the election and postponing a potential showdown on GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan's agency budget cuts until next spring when Republicans hope to hold more power in Washington. Ryan returned to the Capitol from the campaign trail to vote for the half-year measure, even though it spends billions of dollars more than the Wisconsin lawmaker's budget plan, which has hel ...

Oct 11, 2012
Since retaking control in 2010, House Republicans have aggressively cut spending at the State Department in general and embassy security in particular. Chaffetz and Issa and their colleagues voted to pay for far less security than the State Department requested in 2011 and again this year. I need to get the phrase "Republican Hypocrisy" in my text expander. ...

Oct 30, 2012
http://washingtonexaminer.com/spending-on-white-house-dinners-soars-under-obama/article/2511758#.UI_zLFERBZ9 ...

Nov 26, 2012
$59.1 billion dollars spent already, not including Cyber Monday. I myself don't partake in the craziness, but it is nice to see businesses profiting from the mania. ...

Jan 08, 2013
Too bad Harry Reid and his crew can't get their act together. ...

Feb 27, 2013
FOX NEWS INSIDER - President Obama has accused Republicans of blocking efforts to avoid the automatic spending cuts set to go into effect March 1. Fox and Friends asked Judge Andrew Napolitano whether Obama can decide where the cuts should go into effect, since Congress has not passed a budget. Napolitano explained that the sequester is not a reduction in spending, but actually just slowing down the rate of spending increases. He said Obama has an obligation to keep the most critical areas o ...

Aug 11, 2013
link ...

Jan 25, 2014
The Biggest Spender: Obama Has Spent More Money Than Anyone In History of World http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/06/18/The-Biggest-Spender-Obama-Has-Spent-More-Money-Than-Anyone-In-History-of-World It’s official. President Barack Obama is the biggest spender in the history of the world. And that is not hyperbole. Like a shopaholic who denies the addiction, Obama has consistently been in denial about his reckless spending addiction. Despite President Barack Obama’s d ...

Oct 09, 2012
Defense: $2 trillion divides Obama and Romney CNN Money: "The United States is by far the biggest spender on defense -- accounting for 41% of worldwide military expenditures in 2011, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Indeed, last year Americans spent more than all the other countries in the top 10 list combined, including five times more than China, the No. 2 spender. U.S. spends more on defense than any other country, and the defense budget would b ...

Oct 15, 2013
fiasco sparked by computer glitch - because they were supposed to stick to $50 limit per customer. Translation, Walmart will not foot the bill. Their customers and stock holders will. When I first saw the videos on this story, I thought somebody posted Mohammed in a bad light on You Tube again. ...

Jan 21, 2010
Well, back to square 1. Wonder how many judges are in the pockets of corporations? Supreme Court rejects limits on corporate spending in electoral campaigns Video High court rolls back campaign spending limits The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that corporations may spend as freely as they like to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress, easing decades-old limits on business efforts to influence federal campaigns. » LAUNCH VIDEO PLAYER ...

Apr 24, 2010
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/24/bill-maher-to-tea-baggers_n_550430.html ...

Jan 01, 2013
Fiscal Cliff Bill Heads to House for Approval "It shouldn't have taken this long to come to an agreement, and this shouldn't be the model for how we do things around here," said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who negotiated the agreement with Vice President Joe Biden. By ANDREW TAYLOR | Tuesday, Jan 1, 2013 | Updated 5:02 AM CST Getty Images U.S. Vice President Joe Biden arrives for a closed-door meeting with Senate Democrats to urge ...

Oct 04, 2015
Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), a self-identified socialist, is proposing the largest peacetime expansion of government in history, backing $18 trillion in spending in one decade, according to a tally by the Wall Street Journal. According to the U.S. Treasury, our current total public debt, including both debt held by the public and intragovernmental holdings, exceeds $18 trillion. Sanders’ new expenditures would match this amount in 10 years. Sanders would dedicate ...

Jul 29, 2016
IMPORTANT ACTION INFORMATION FOR NOVEMBER, 2016, VOTE Medicare at age 76! If you don't read this, and do nothing about it, don't complain when it affects you or your loved ones! This is the second Judge to have read the Obama Care document comments. More highlights of Nancy's "pass it and then find out what's in the bill"! Show this to everyone nearing the ripe old age of 76. These are just a few of the things that we Seniors are going to have to deal with which star ...

May 06, 2011
I don't know if any of you do this, but every time I forget something, like part of the alphabet or my phone number, I am terrified that I have the beginnings of Alzheimer's Disease. It just happened again a few minutes ago. I was trying to file something alphabetically and momentarily forgot my ABC's or my OPR's in this case. I have no doubt that I can take care of myself right now while I'm in great health, but what if... ...

Dec 08, 2009
Senate Democrats are discussing the idea of expanding Medicare by lowering the age at which the elderly could enter the government-run insurance program, Democratic sources on the Hill tell the Huffington Post.The proposal would lower the age of eligibility for Medicare from 65 to 55, though an age limit of 60 has also been suggested. Crucial details -- such as the timing of the implementation of such a reform -- were not provided due to the sensitivity and ongoing nature of the deliberations. A ...

Mar 20, 2010
The CBO has now said that the "Medicare Fix", which the Democrats are trying to pass separate from the HCR bill, throws their scheme into the red, eating up all of the claimed $200 billion in deficit reduction and instead adding $56 billion more. For those who don't know, there are programmed reductions in Medicare reimbursements to physicians that are supposed to "kick in" automatically, and every year Congress passes a bill to reverse those cuts for the simple reason that such reductio ...

Mar 21, 2016
Does anyone here have Medicare supplement (MediGap) or Medicare Advantage Plan and are you happy with it? My Medicare policy start 04/01 and I have no idea what kind of supplement to get. Thanks for any info. ...