Ever the technocrat, Jeb Bush proposes that all Medicare recipients be required to fill out an advance directive. From the NYT story:
Jeb Bush, defending his efforts to keep alive Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged woman, when he was governor of Florida, suggested on Friday that patients on Medicare should be required to sign advance directives dictating their care if they become incapacitated.
Terri was in her twenties when she became incapacitated, so his proposed mandate wouldn’t have made a difference.
And what if someone says no, are they to be kicked out of the program?
Hey, no doubt Jeb will soon say that filling out an advance directive should also be required to sign up to Medicaid and Obamacare. Why not? Once a technocrat, always a technocrat.
I am in favor of advance directives. I have one. But I don’t believe anyone should be required by law to fill one out — particularly since the push is so strong these days to convince people to forgo expensive care.