pergdaddy
8/7/2008, 09:00 AM
from the douglass report
Oregon health plan covers assisted suicide but not life-extending care
I received an email from a reader this week that brought this next outrageous story to my attention. You're not going to believe this one. Apparently, a cancer patient was told by her insurance company - Oregon Health Plan - that her policy would not cover the cancer treatment prescribed by her oncologist. It would, however, cover doctor-assisted suicide.
Yes, unfortunately, you read that right.
(Should assisted suicide be legal? Click here to participate in the Weekly Poll.)
This all started a while ago when Barbara Wagner of Eugene, Ore., whose lung cancer has been in remission for two years, was prescribed a form of chemotherapy designed to slow the growth of her cancer. But to Wagner's shock (and mine, and probably just about everyone's), cancer treatments that can prolong life or that change the course of the disease aren't covered by the OHP.
Of course, the weasel bureaucrats at OHP have an excuse. According to Dr. Walter Shafer, the medical director of Oregon's State Division of Medical Assistance Programs, "We can't cover everything for everyone. Taxpayer dollars are limited for publicly funded programs." Shaffer claims that OHP tries "to come up with policies that provide the most good for the most people," insisting that "most cancer treatments are high priority on the list."
Of course, the insurance provider is NEVER for EXTENDING life … after all, the longer a patient lives, the more money the insurance company has to shell out.
As of now, OHP's coverage will not approve any cancer treatment that doesn't provide at least a five percent chance of survival after five years. The problem with this policy is that cancer treatments are forever evolving, and every cancer (and every patient) responds differently.
Wagner was outraged by the situation. And she should have been. Oregon was essentially trying to bribe her to die. "To say to someone, 'we'll pay for you to die, but not pay for you to live,' it's cruel," Wagner said. "I get angry. Who do they think they are?"
Indeed, it's hard to believe that a state plan could actually send out a letter that offers patients the option of killing themselves. Only in Oregon - literally.
You may not realize this, but Oregon is the only state in America where assisted suicide is legal. It's called the "Death with Dignity Act," and it was passed back in 1997. Basically, it allows physicians to prescribe lethal medications to terminally ill patients so they can end their own lives through self-administration.
Dr. John Sattenspiel, the senior medical director for LIPA, which administers OHP, said that, at some level, doctor-assisted suicide could be considered as a palliative or comfort care measure. "We had no intent to upset her, but we do need to point out the options available to her under the Oregon Health Plan," he said. Wow. No wonder this guy has moved out of the real medical profession and into health care administration - he's got the bedside manner of an undertaker!
In an interesting twist, Genentech is providing the chemotherapy Tarciva free-of-charge to Ms. Wagner for a year. Although I never think that chemotherapy is the best course of action, I've got to give credit where it's due: hats off to Genentech for their compassion in this case. It's nice to know that even Big Pharma can have a heart.
Just don't get used to it.
Oregon health plan covers assisted suicide but not life-extending care
I received an email from a reader this week that brought this next outrageous story to my attention. You're not going to believe this one. Apparently, a cancer patient was told by her insurance company - Oregon Health Plan - that her policy would not cover the cancer treatment prescribed by her oncologist. It would, however, cover doctor-assisted suicide.
Yes, unfortunately, you read that right.
(Should assisted suicide be legal? Click here to participate in the Weekly Poll.)
This all started a while ago when Barbara Wagner of Eugene, Ore., whose lung cancer has been in remission for two years, was prescribed a form of chemotherapy designed to slow the growth of her cancer. But to Wagner's shock (and mine, and probably just about everyone's), cancer treatments that can prolong life or that change the course of the disease aren't covered by the OHP.
Of course, the weasel bureaucrats at OHP have an excuse. According to Dr. Walter Shafer, the medical director of Oregon's State Division of Medical Assistance Programs, "We can't cover everything for everyone. Taxpayer dollars are limited for publicly funded programs." Shaffer claims that OHP tries "to come up with policies that provide the most good for the most people," insisting that "most cancer treatments are high priority on the list."
Of course, the insurance provider is NEVER for EXTENDING life … after all, the longer a patient lives, the more money the insurance company has to shell out.
As of now, OHP's coverage will not approve any cancer treatment that doesn't provide at least a five percent chance of survival after five years. The problem with this policy is that cancer treatments are forever evolving, and every cancer (and every patient) responds differently.
Wagner was outraged by the situation. And she should have been. Oregon was essentially trying to bribe her to die. "To say to someone, 'we'll pay for you to die, but not pay for you to live,' it's cruel," Wagner said. "I get angry. Who do they think they are?"
Indeed, it's hard to believe that a state plan could actually send out a letter that offers patients the option of killing themselves. Only in Oregon - literally.
You may not realize this, but Oregon is the only state in America where assisted suicide is legal. It's called the "Death with Dignity Act," and it was passed back in 1997. Basically, it allows physicians to prescribe lethal medications to terminally ill patients so they can end their own lives through self-administration.
Dr. John Sattenspiel, the senior medical director for LIPA, which administers OHP, said that, at some level, doctor-assisted suicide could be considered as a palliative or comfort care measure. "We had no intent to upset her, but we do need to point out the options available to her under the Oregon Health Plan," he said. Wow. No wonder this guy has moved out of the real medical profession and into health care administration - he's got the bedside manner of an undertaker!
In an interesting twist, Genentech is providing the chemotherapy Tarciva free-of-charge to Ms. Wagner for a year. Although I never think that chemotherapy is the best course of action, I've got to give credit where it's due: hats off to Genentech for their compassion in this case. It's nice to know that even Big Pharma can have a heart.
Just don't get used to it.