As the US looks for ways to trim spending, one of the most relevant issues becomes: Are the dollars put into end-of-life care the most cost-effective way to allocate our scarce medical care resources?Discuss

Every medical study ever conducted has concluded that 100 percent of all Americans will eventually die.

This comes as no great surprise, but the amount of money being spent at the very end of people’s lives probably will. In 2009, Medicare paid $50 billion just for doctor and hospital bills during the last two months of patients’ lives – that is more than the budget of the Department of Homeland Security or the Department of Education.

And it has been estimated that 20 to 30 percent of these medical expenditures may have had no meaningful impact. The federal government pays for most of the bills with few or no questions asked.

You might think this would be an obvious thing for Congress and the president to address as they try to reform health care. However, what used to be a bipartisan issue has become a politically explosive one – a perfect example of the costs that threaten to bankrupt the country and how hard it is going to be to rein them in.

As the US looks for ways to trim spending, one of the most relevant issues becomes: Are the dollars put into end-of-life care the most cost-effective way to allocate our scarce medical care resources?

Taken even a step further, who should bear the costs of our desire for longer and happier lives (quality of life)? Should this be an individual effort?

Or should the Government for whom we pay taxes to and work for being the one to provide longer and happier lives (quality of life) for it citizen.

Respond to these questions after reading the assigned reading, “The Aging of the Population”.

Your response should not be less than two pages and include the usual requirements of proper grammar, spelling, etc.

Last Completed Projects