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]