The Drumbeat For Medical Rationing Increases

Truth in transparency: The author of this piece, Arthur Caplan, once called me a “cockeyed optimist.” I took it as a compliment. He’s a highly respected ethicist, but here it sounds to me like he’s beating the drum for rationing care. Death panels, anyone?

Dialysis payment program is costly in too many ways

. . . Experts agreed that the End- Stage Renal Dialysis program might ultimately

serve 10,000 people with kidney failure and would cost Medicare about $135 million dollars. They expected many of those on dialysis would return to work — paying taxes that would help cover the costs involved.

The experts were wrong. . . .

The End-Stage Renal Dialysis program was an act of noble compassion. But ripping off the American people by allowing too many people to receive lousy or unnecessary care is not compassionate at all. It is cruel. more