by the Night Writer

I first saw this article and threw it into my drafts folder about a month ago and forgot about it. A little spring cleaning, however, brings you this snippet from the Llama Butchers:

Senator Warner wants to start a “discussion” about end-of-life issues
From The Virginian Pilot. Make no mistake about where this is headed: first it will be just ensuring that everyone has “information,” next it will be voluntary “guidelines,” and then the “guidelines” will no longer be voluntary. Translation: your friendly federal government wants to decide when to pull the plug–because it knows best

Here’s the article in question:

Sen. Warner calls for discussion of end-of-life treatment
By Dale Eisman
The Virginian-Pilot
© March 6, 2009
WASHINGTON

Two months into his term, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner has marched into the policy thicket that is health-care reform, urging a national discussion on the touchy question of how best to treat terminally ill people.

In a speech to hospital executives this week, Warner called for intensified efforts to educate individuals and families in advance about end-of-life care. With better information, many people would forgo expensive and almost-always-futile treatment for patients near death, he said.

Such measures account for more than one-fourth of Medicare payments and 10 to 12 percent of all health costs, studies suggest.

“We leave it to families to resolve these extraordinarily difficult decisions with little guidance,” Warner said. “Other industrialized nations have dealt with the end-of-life issue. It’s time we did as well.”

I’ve written here several times about just how other countries deal with end-of-life issues — and how nationalized medicine essentially leads to rationing of healthcare because of the high costs. Typically the very young and the very old are most at risk of being deemed a drain on the country if the costs of their care get too high — and then the Nanny State turns into the Bully State.

21st Century British Healthcare (Terminally Ill Can Be Starved to Death, UK Court Rules) (featuring an assist from Monty Python)

Charlotte’s Web: When the State Decides if Your Baby Shall Live or Die

An update on Charlotte Wyatt … and the state of socialized medicine

Scottish seniors aren’t dead yet: the rising cost of “free” healthcare

I think I’ll go for a walk.

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