Medicare Death Costs $50,000

Are we honoring our elders or throwing money after a lost cause?

New York (I-Newswire) January 18, 2013 - One-third of all Medicare payments are for the care of patients with chronic illnesses during their final two years. Much of that goes toward physician and hospital fees associated with repeated hospitalizations. Fact is, the average Medicare death costs $50,000 during the last six months of life for patients with common chronic diseases, and that doesn’t include hospice costs. Typical treatments are expensive and often postpone death for only a short time.

The oldest baby boomers are turning 67 in 2013, and when the trend peaks in 2030, the number of people over age 65 will soar to 71.5 million - one in every five Americans. Unless the Hippocratic Oath is amended to include a "fiscal responsibility" component, the lion's share of medical resources will be depleted by society's elders.

Penned by incisive commentator Martine Lacombe, Silver Orphan – a social novel - explores the issues facing today's aging population, including end-of-life care. Silver Orphan is available in bookstores nationwide.

Once a popular genre immortalized by Charles Dickens, the Social Novel is a work of fiction in which a prevailing social problem is dramatized. The perfect medium for Silver Orphan, its mainstream angle strikes a wide audience while making a hard-to-swallow truth more palatable.

Aging is taking place alongside other broad social trends that will affect the lives of older people. Silver Orphans represent a ticking time bomb that can no longer be ignored.

About the author
Martine Lacombe is a social commentator. The author of three acclaimed independent movie scripts, she has also penned numerous peer-reviewed medical articles.

Interview Contact:
Marc Michels
(954) 676-4141
mmichels@5publishing.com
www.5Publishing.com

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