Margaret McClean, director of Markkula Center for Applied Ethics and Center bioethics director, considers medical decision making, or reasoning, based upon cost burden. Recent health directives word this as, “excessive expense,” or use words such as “disproportionate means of preserving life” (McClean, 2011). However, careful considerations are necessary when it comes to rising health care costs, medical-decision making, decisions on prolonging-life, or end-of-life care, no matter if an individual, family, or government agency/program is paying the bills. The purpose of this journal entry is to discuss the cost/benefit analysis of extending a life, and to consider how it may impact the family financially vs. the expenses of caring for
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My husband was stationed in Naples, Italy, and Mozzarella cheese was made from the milk of water buffalo from the Campania, region. A farmer I purchased the cheese from told me that there was an Italian law, whereas if one were to injure or kill a water buffalo, that the fee would be equal to the amount of Mozzarella produced by the animal over am average life-time. At first I thought the farmer was joking, but he also added how much is cost to raise and care for water buffalo. Apparently, they are prone to disease, and a farmer takes particular precautions to protect the species. Certainly Americans value human life much in the same manner. We invest a great deal into our lives, and give so much to the lives of others, that is a value which is probably greatly …show more content…
Certainly, a person taking advantage of maintaining optimum health vs. ending up with a debilitating disease reaps cost benefits. However, many face the moral-dilemma of caring for those who face a serious or terminal illness. For this situation there are factors concerning the scarcity of healthcare resources in relation to demand for them, and how they “should be allocated” (McHugh et al, 2015). In the UK, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) make decisions on the allocation of resources based upon “scientific judgments, supported by legal considerations, and social value judgements” (McHugh et al;, 2015). They determine social value judgements largely by the views of the general public, the work of a Citizen’s Council, and a set of principles, which are currently under revision (McHugh et al,
My husband was stationed in Naples, Italy, and Mozzarella cheese was made from the milk of water buffalo from the Campania, region. A farmer I purchased the cheese from told me that there was an Italian law, whereas if one were to injure or kill a water buffalo, that the fee would be equal to the amount of Mozzarella produced by the animal over am average life-time. At first I thought the farmer was joking, but he also added how much is cost to raise and care for water buffalo. Apparently, they are prone to disease, and a farmer takes particular precautions to protect the species. Certainly Americans value human life much in the same manner. We invest a great deal into our lives, and give so much to the lives of others, that is a value which is probably greatly …show more content…
Certainly, a person taking advantage of maintaining optimum health vs. ending up with a debilitating disease reaps cost benefits. However, many face the moral-dilemma of caring for those who face a serious or terminal illness. For this situation there are factors concerning the scarcity of healthcare resources in relation to demand for them, and how they “should be allocated” (McHugh et al, 2015). In the UK, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) make decisions on the allocation of resources based upon “scientific judgments, supported by legal considerations, and social value judgements” (McHugh et al;, 2015). They determine social value judgements largely by the views of the general public, the work of a Citizen’s Council, and a set of principles, which are currently under revision (McHugh et al,