RID is the non-profit group that Jon Stewart's guest last night, Ms. McCaughy, represents and works for.
I have been a monthly contributor to them for years, ever since my mother-in-law was diagnosed with MRSA and eventually died from it. It was awful. My Aunt also died several years ago from another hospital bug but I don't remember the name of it - but it was very unexpected.
We tried to get my mother-in-law into hospice care (had it set up already too) and even the pulmonary doctor at the hospital said she should be in hospice care but her doctor would not release her (had to run up that bill to the very end). When she took a turn for the worse he released her, we got a call, met the ambulance at the nursing home, which refused her, so we then chased them to an ER, which needed the DNR, so got that to them, released her back to the nursing home where for her final 8 hours, she was finally at peace with the hospice care we had set up earlier for her in advance.
Sad, sad situation.
So to watch all of what this woman had to say.... Well, here's my letter to her.
I wanted to watch Ms. McCaughey since I am a regular contributor to your organization but was very, very dissappointed.
As important as your organization is, after seeing Ms. McCaughey on television last night, promoting something that I am personally against (the position she has taken as I believe in end of life consultations), I do not know whether I will continue my small monthly checks or continue to send people to your website (my mother-in-law died from MRSA and my Aunt died from another hospital bug). People who know me know I fight this cause.
In fact, my signature line in my e-mails has a link to your webpage.
After watching two very important people in my past slowly pass away, I do not agree with her stance. It would have been more humane had my father been in hospice care and my mother-in-law was not released until the doctor had sufficiently run up a bill (seriously, the pulmonary doctor said she needed to be in hospice and did not know why she was being kept there - we knew it was for the money).
I agree with Mr. Stewart. If a doctor gets Living Wills and Advanced Directives, some people may want to continue care, in that case, the doctor is following the advice of their patient.
We do need to get serious about end-of-life care in America. We keep people lingering on, for most of the time our own selfish reasons (because death means no hope of them coming back).
I truly am dissappointed that you all have taken this position on this issue, especially when more people will die as a result of you all helping to slow down healthcare reform. Like Mr. Stewart said, what incintive does a doctor have otherwise? He has much more of an incentive to run tests, which, btw, also increases the chance of an infection (depending on the test ordered of course).
Please, this should have been thought out but it sounds like a Republican talking point. If you are going to fight for the 100,000 people who get sick and die each year, you should also fight for the rest of the 50 million people.
She also suggested that 14 million people who are eligible for Medicaid are currently not enrolled. Please tell what would happen to our current system, since Medicaid is run differently in each state, without the funds to pay for these extra 14 million people? Would we see what is happening in California occur all across the Nation? So, no, signing up 14 million people on Medicaid solves nothing because it too does not address who will pay for this extra coverage.
But we live in a society where you can hide the tax money being spent in a General Fund easier than having a line-item tax on ones' paycheck, as is the case now for Medicare. So the true medical costs of the uninsured are still hidden from public view.
By the way, I am a 45-year old disabled woman with Multiple Sclerosis and a host of other problems. I have been through the system and understand it more than most of the population.
Thank-you,
Marcia XXXXXXXXX
=========================
http://politicalcompass.org/ - find out where your political mind really is at.
=========================
Reality Check:
Over 100,000 people will die in America from Hospital Acquired Infections this year.
That is almost 300 Americans every day or 2,000 every week.
http://www.hospitalinfection.org/