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More on End-of-Life Political Decisions from a Different Perspective – Since 2009

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP™

The controversial booklet Your Life, Your Choices begins by saying,

“There’s only one person who is truly qualified to tell health care providers how you feel about different kinds of health care issues—and that’s you. But, what if you get sic; or injured so severely that you can’t communicate with your doctors or family members? Have you thought about what kinds of medical care you would want? Do your loved ones and health care providers know your wishes?

Many people assume that close family members automatically know what they want. But, studies have shown that spouses guess wrong over half the time about what kinds of treatment their husbands or wives would want. You can help assure that your wishes will direct future health care.”

Contents

The booklet, initially produced by the VA Health System and now under revision, includes two areas of focus: 1] Planning for Future Medical Decisions, and 2] How to Prepare a Personalized Living Will.

Now, insofar as doctors, nurses and some other medical professionals are concerned – decisions of life, death or dismemberment are not an unusual or particularly contentious topic except for the lunatic fringes.

Yet, when taken in the context of HR-3200, they seem to be provoking wild outrage with talk of “killing grandma”, “government death squads”, etc all within the Obama Administration’s talk of healthcare reform. Still, this is not the point of my diatribe as I remain a neutral observer and pass no value judgment at this time.

What is the Point?

Just this! As a financial advisor for more than a decade, estate planning to reduce taxes, along with living wills and advanced directives are usual topics of discussion with clients. In fact, they are fairly boring and rote topics for estate planners, tax attorneys and accountants, too.

My wife and I have a living will, for example. And, although I am not sure that I could “pull her plug”; I did watch as she and her mother did so for my father-in-law [both wife and mother-in-law are Master-Degree prepared RNs]. So; why the impolite town-hall meetings and related controversy, now! Is it mere politics as usual, unusual, or is it something else?

Assessment

The onerous pages of this booklet seem to be page 21 and page 53. Take a look and decide for yourself.

Link: https://medicalexecutivepost.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/your_life_your_choices.pdf

Conclusion

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Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

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