Kennedy Needs to Put His Money Where His Tumor Is

I know the headline sounds harsh but I believe Ted Kennedy has a chance to leave a legacy on the healthcare system in our country. After the election, he plans on getting right back to work to help Obama create healthcare reform. To put it bluntly, Ted is going to die soon. Very soon. He has a malignant tumor in his brain. His chances of living more than a couple of years, at best, with this glioma is very small. In a socialized system like in England or Canada, the regular guy on the street would not have been diagnosed as fast as he was in May. In fact, getting the CT Scan and seeing specialists may have taken months. I am willing to bet that the type of chemotherapy Senator Kennedy receives may not be available so readily to the patients in those countries either. Patients there surely wouldn't have had the surgery he had done within a few weeks of the diagnosis. But let's get past that and move on. Will Ted take an honest look at his proposed socialized healthcare situation and have the guts to make the hard choices? Will he agree to ration medical tests, doctor visits, medications and treatments so that we can afford it? Most of all, will Ted have the integrity to ration them on himself? He blew this opportunity on wind power when he wouldn't allow it in the waters near his house. He blew an opportunity on self-control with his obesity and alcohol issues (a lifestyle that adds to our country's healthcare costs tremendously). Now that he has a fatal disease, will Ted show the world that he will not go on very expensive but unproven medications? Will he stop getting air transports for every seizure he has? Will he use the hospice method for a peaceful death or will there be a full court press when he codes that will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars? Heck, is he even DNR? His legacy and work will be on the line and will play itself out in the first year of the Obama presidency. I will be following what he does on Capital Hill but more importantly I will be following what he does during his dying process just to see if walks his talk and puts his money where his tumor is.