Political Quotes

“Monday in the blink of an eye, hundreds of people at the Boston Marathon were faced with an awful decision. None of them woke up that morning expecting they, or a loved one, was going to need emergency care in a life-threatening situation. We tend to think of end-of-life care as the province of a terminally ill person, often elderly, but that's just one circumstance, and not necessarily the most common. The decisions need to be made instantly about whether to amputate a limb, and a decision must be made that moment. If a person is in shock or unconscious, who helps make that decision for them? Last week, I had two more circumstances where people in my life were faced with totally unexpected life-threatening circumstances that brought these questions into sharp perspective. Anybody, anywhere, any time. How do we make sure that these decisions, which are made every day in every State in virtually every city, are made in accordance with the best interest and wishes of the patient and the patient's family? I've been working for the last 5 years for the Federal Government to be a better partner with families. It's called end-of-life care, and the Federal Government, the Department of Health and Human Services, and Congress are missing in action. Medicare will spend billions of dollars on the most expensive, invasive, painful, and in some cases, if not unnecessary, at least questionable care, often regardless of the wishes of the patient and their family.…”