So you like Canadas socialized health care huh? A glimpse of this brave new world can be had by casting a glance at our neighbor to the north. There, Canadas Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that under Ontarios Health Care Consent Act, which has been on the books for nearly two decades, doctors cannot overrule a familys wishes for an incapacitated patient regarding life or death decisions, but an administrative tribunal can. In 1996, Ontarios provincial legislature created the Consent and Capacity Board, a body with the power to make the final decision when doctors and families disagree on keeping a patient alive with continued treatment or pulling the plug, a conflict that can result in endless legal battles. At issue in the Ontario case was the fate of Hassan Rasouli, a retired engineer who suffered complications following brain surgery three years ago and has been in a vegetative state in a Toronto hospital ever since. Doctors say there is no hope of recovery but the family doesnt want to turn off life support. The court ruled that the doctors could not overrule the familys wishes, but are able to appeal to the Consent and Capacity Board, which could. Canada has a full-blown single-payer system, which President Obama is undoubtedly aiming for. So the question of when it is cost-effective to treat or keep patients alive becomes more of a matter of space and budget rather than a medical issue. The question of whether ones life is worth saving or ones condition is worth treating remains a key part of ObamaCare, even while being eclipsed by political maneuverings and enrollment difficulties. And having that decision made by a body such as IPAB has led to legislative efforts to pull the plug on ObamaCare itself. link:news.investors/ibd-editorials/102213-676161-death-panels-are-grim-reality-in-canada.htm?p=2
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 15:14:00 +0000
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