Hospice: a better option
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Newsday says the only way to control government spending is to control the rising costs of health care ["Medicare needs wiser antidotes," Editorial, Dec. 1]. The editorial focuses on the cost of physician services and the high cost of end-of-life care.
Most of us have or will deal with aging parents and the issue of the dying process. Frankly, I don't wish a death under bright lights in a noisy environment with all kinds of invasive tubes and wires. The alternative is hospice care, either at home, or in a hospice facility: quiet, peaceful and respectful palliative care for the terminally ill.
And guess what? Hospice care costs a small fraction of dying in a hospital. It's covered by Medicare just like hospital care, so Medicare (that means you and me) can save a lot of money by choosing hospice care.
Don't rely on the government to convince you that hospice is a better way - check for yourself. Do it ahead of time, so you are not pushed to put a loved one in the hospital at a critical time.
Doug Dahlgard
St. James
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