6 months ago
WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) -- Grandma came close to derailing health care reform with critics complaining that the government wants to decide if she should live or die.
But lots of people close to death say nothing could be further from the truth.
It's been a roaring hot August for Members of Congress considering health care reform.
"What it says is as a 74-year-old man, we're pretty much going to write you off!" one woman complained at at town hall meeting held by Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA).
In the cool calm atmosphere of his Northwest DC home, Frank Karel can't believe what he's hearing.
"That is just totally absolutely a lie," Karel said.
With his wife at his side, Karel is dealing with advanced prostate cancer.
"I wanted to die peacefully, and if possible, in my own home," he says.
Karel has filled out advanced directives that even include a wristband asking paramedics not to resuscitate him if his heart or breathing stops.
"Everything is being done to minimize the pain and discomfort that Frank has felt," says his wife, Betsy.
"I have a wife, two children, four children, and six grandchildren, and I want my dying experience not to be horrible for them. I want them to be comfortable with what's happening to grandpa," says Karel.
A new survey of 300 terminally ill cancer patients says counseling on end of life issues has made them happier and improved their quality of life. One of the researchers says they felt better knowing someone was treating them, and not just their tumor.
The House bill directs Medicare to pay for that kind of counseling, but bans money for organizations the promote suicide, assisted suicide or hastening death.
"We are not trying to rub out grandma. We're trying to make her dying more comfortable that what it is now under the American system," says Dr. John Lynch of The Washington Home and Community Hospices.
More than a quarter of Medicare's $327 billion budget now goes to people in their last year of life, and experts say much of that goes for heroic measures that patients DON'T want.
"If no one steps in a stops it, it's like a runaway freight train," says Karel. And Karel says that's NOT the way he wants to go.
If you call Community Hospices at 1-866-234-7724, they'll send you a blank advanced directive so you can let doctors know your wishes at the end of life.
You can also print one out at http://www.caringinfo.org/stateaddownload.
9NEWS NOW & wusa9.com
