Choosing who's to live
Subtitle: ethics and aging
By: edited by James W. Walters.
Contributors: Walters, James W. 1945-
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Urbana
Language: eng
Number of pages: 165
Subjects: Older people -- Medical care -- Moral and ethical aspects.; Health care rationing.; Older people -- Medical care -- Economic aspects.
Other titles: Choosing who is to live
Description: The population is rapidly aging while access to proper and affordable medical treatment is becoming more and more limited. This impasse challenges us to make ethical decisions regarding the rationing of health care. Arguing that de facto rationing is already taking place due to economic necessity and that proper management of this rationing is essential to the fair and ethical treatment of all seeking care, Choosing Who's to Live directly addresses one of the most challenging moral questions of our day. Appearing in the wake of increasing awareness of health care reform, this volume identifies four compelling arguments for managed health care rationing: the number of citizens over age eighty-five will increase 500 percent by the year 2040; current baby boomers could live longer than today's elderly by seven to fifteen years; new medical technologies are appearing every day; and the ratio of workers to retirees will be 1:4 in forty years instead of the current 1:2.5.

In this volume, six leading scholars take the discussion of rationing health care beyond the simple idea of withholding government-funded, live-saving treatment from the very old to a more ethical, effective treatment plan for all.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
"The essays in this volume evolved from a working conference held at Loma Linda University in 1991 that was designed to further the discussion of rationing health care beyond a focus on age as the primary criterion"--P. [vii].
Table of contents: title: The justification and implications of age-influenced rationing / Paul T. Menzel; title: Justice between the young and the old: rationing from an international perspective / Norman Daniels; title: Is there a place for euthanasia in America's care for its elderly? / Margaret P. Battin; title: Caring for the disabled elderly: the economics and ethics of financing long-term care / Nancy S. Jecker; title: Bioethics in a disposal society: health care and the intergenerational stake / Carroll L. Estes, Susan E. Kelly, and Elizabeth A. Binney; title: Why now? the growing interest in limiting the lifesaving health care resources available to elderly people / John F. Kilner.