Euthanasia Case Study

There is a widespread opinion that Australia spends an extremely large sum on technology and treatments relating to health care for dying patients. Reports have noted that 27 to 30 percent of the Medicare budget is spent on the 5 percent of Medicare patients who have deceased within the year. It is noted that the costs increase dramatically as death approaches, so that the last month of life accounts for 30 to 40 percent of the medical care expenditures in the last year of life. To many, savings from reduced use of expensive technological involvements at the end of life are both necessary and desired by many of the population.

Many have linked the effort to reduce the high cost of death with the legalization of the treatment euthanasia. It is noted that “managed care and managed death (through euthanasia) are less expensive than fee-for-service care and extended survival. Less expenses is better for the patients” also, “the cost effectiveness of hastened death is as undeniable as gravity. The quicker a patient dies, the less costly is his or her care”. The potential for saving in health care costs for patients encourages the Supreme Court to permit the legalization of euthanasia, remarking that “if physician-assisted suicide were permitted, many might resort to it to spare their families the substantial financial burden of end-of-life health care costs”.

Three determining factors that would ultimate compute the likely cost-savings from euthanasia are, (1) the amount of medical costs that are likely to be avoided by the use of euthanasia which is related to the amount of time that a patient’s life might be reduced, (2) the number of patients who are likely to commit suicide with the aid of euthanasia if it is permitted; and (3), t...

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...ents. If Australians were to choose euthanasia to the same rate of the Dutch (Euthanasia is legalized in the Netherlands) only .027 percent of Australians might actually elect euthanasia as the treatment if it were legalized. The treatment may not be likely to save the substantial amounts of costs as many as we had expected, which is inclusive in an institutional term or for nation.

Overall, it can be agreed that the debate of legalising Euthanasia relates to the viewpoint of the individual. Numerous studies show that utilising Euthanasia has a positive correlation with efficiency measures whilst other studies implying a great implication in cost savings also. Although, the demonstration of these cost-effectiveness have not been confirmed therefore there is not sufficient enough evidence to justify the legalisation of the treatment in many nations across the world.