Don’t wait for the talk. - Photographer: John Moore/Getty Images
“Regrettably, you’re going to die. As far as that goes, you don’t have much choice. But your death may involve a lot of other decisions, and perhaps you’d like to be the one to make them.
“Would you prefer to die at home, for example, instead of in the hospital? If you fell into a coma with no expectation of recovery, would you want to be kept alive regardless? When you become unable to make those choices, who should make them for you?
“If these matters make you squirm, you’re hardly alone. Just one-quarter of American adults have what’s called an advance care directive, a document meant to answer such questions. More people may get one drawn up now that Medicare has said it will pay doctors to discuss the subject with patients and their families. That would be a good thing — especially if it encourages a broader shift in the way people think about their mortality.”
Read this BloombergView editorial in its entirety, click here.
