We have so far to go..

NPR ran a story this morning discussing how one of the provisions in the current version of the proposed health care plan, which will make advanced directive planning a covered service under medicaid (every 5 years), is being misrepresented as a provision to teach people how to die sooner in order to save the government money.

Setting aside the political issues raised in the story, the fact that our societal views (fears really) about death and dying would even allow the issue of advanced directives to be misconstrued in such a way, tells us how far we still have to go to achieve an appropriate balance between the pursuit of curative treatments and quality of life concerns.