Introduction: Caring for the Seriously Ill: Cost and Public Policy

Abstract:     
The cost of end-of-life health care is currently the subject of enormous political, academic, and social debate. Sure, this was big news back in the early 1980s, when both Alan Greenspan and Governor Richard Lamm famously articulated the need to limit medical care of the elderly. But three decades later, in 2011, the cost of end-of-life health care has an exponentially bigger profile. The articles in this edition of The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics address main issues of caring for the seriously ill (including technology, cost, and compassion), possible problem-solving solutions (including deliberation, education, and research), and flawed solutions (including hope and hospice). Americans are engaged in an earnest and profound debate about how to consider costs in caring for the seriously ill. This symposium not only advances the ongoing debate but also offers a number of fresh ideas on the subject.

Keywords: Ill, elderly, treatment, advance directives, dying, death, POLST, health care, NICU, MICU, end-of-life

JEL Classification: K32

Accepted Paper Series