There’s no lack of vested interests weighing in on health care reform. Among locals offering input is Dr. Stephen Klasko, dean of the College of Medicine at USF and CEO of USF Health. Dr. Klasko recently noted that health-care providers now have “incentives to do more and more.” Klasko was zeroing in on a huge — and hugely sensitive — health-care cost driver.
He was referencing the inordinate amount of medical expenses incurred in a patient’s final months. Nobody wants to talk in terms of the ultimate bottom line when it’s a loved one at death’s door – with the prospect of buying a few more months of marginal quality of life at extraordinary cost. It’s a touchy subject, but no longer too touchy to talk about.