The poor old fart just hasn't got a clue.
Hospice is not "rationed care" by any stretch.
And it is always a family's choice, not a forced outcome.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hospice
Hospice is a type of care and a philosophy of care that focuses on the
palliation of a terminally ill or seriously ill patient's symptoms.
These symptoms can be physical, emotional, or psychosocial in nature.
Hospice care focuses on bringing comfort, self-respect, and tranquility
to people in the final year of life. Patients� symptoms and pain are
controlled, goals of care are discussed and emotional needs are
supported. Hospice believes that the end of life is not a medical
experience, it is a human experience that benefits from expert medical
and holistic support that hospice offers.
Hospice in the United States has grown from a volunteer-led movement to
improve care for people dying alone, isolated, or in hospitals, to a
significant part of the health care system. In 2010, an estimated 1.581
million patients received services from hospice. Hospice is the only
Medicare benefit that includes pharmaceuticals, medical equipment,
twenty-four hour/seven day a week access to care and support for loved
ones following a death. Hospice care is also covered by Medicaid and
most private insurance plans. Most hospice care is delivered at home.
Hospice care is also available to people in home-like hospice
residences, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, veterans'
facilities, hospitals, and prisons. The first hospice in the US was the
Connecticut Hospice.
The first United States hospital-based palliative care programs began in
the late 1980s by committed volunteers across the country. A handful of
institutions such as the Cleveland Clinic and Medical College of
Wisconsin were among the early programs. By 1995, hospices were a $2.8
billion industry in the United States, with $1.9 billion from Medicare
alone funding patients in 1,857 hospice programs with Medicare
certification.[34] In that year, 72% of hospice providers were
non-profit.[34] By 1998, there were 3,200 hospices either in operation
or under development throughout the United States and Puerto Rico,
according to the NHPCO.[34] According to 2007's Last Rights: Rescuing
the End of Life from the Medical System, hospice sites are expanding at
a national rate of about 3.5% per year.[35] As of 2008, approximately
900,000 people in the United States were using hospice every year,[36]
with more than one-third of dying Americans using the service.[37]