The medical community appears to accept the supply and demand theory of care that John Wennberg, M.D., at Dartmouth promulgated decades ago. This too is terrible public policy, and it is already here. Less than a month Hospice is based on estimated life expectancy. But most patients last less than a month, and many die within a few days of referral. Many different problems.
Doctors are afraid of losing their patients.
Hospice is associated with giving up. Hospice providers may be unknown to referring physicians. And then there are resources. Patients and families are often devastated by the cost of terminal illness. Currently, the care that is available is the care delivered.