Maggie Mahar has a column here on the ethical issues raised by the case of a family facing the exhaustion of financial resources to care for their child born with multiple defects to the heart. Elizabeth Warren has some background and you can find out more information from the boy's website. I am highlighting this particular case because it is an instance where the specifics of a case present for the world (a) all that is wrong with out current system of financing health care; and (b) the truly horrific choices we as a society face.
I challenge you readers to check out these links, take in the information, and offer your reflections. The implications of this one case, of a boy born with many, many problems that are theoretically soluble yet troubling in what they mean for the entire system of healthcare delivery and financing, leave us with no easy answers. I, for one, cannot see any answers that do not leave me feeling very sad, precisely because we are dealing with real people and their real lives. It is all well and good to rant about "socialized medicine" on one extreme and "universal healthcare" on the other, but I ask you - what do these empty buzzwords mean when facing a case such as this (and make no mistake, Matthew is not alone in needing extraordinary care)?
