Rewarding Hospitals to Let Old People Die? That’s the Wrong Way to Cut Government Spending

October 27, 2012

I used to think I was in favor of every possible step to reduce the burden of government spending.

Are agricultural subsidies wasteful and corrupt? Yes, so get rid of the Department of Agriculture.
Is Medicaid spending out of control? Yes, so cap outlay growth and block grant the program to the states.
Has NATO outlived its usefulness? Yes, so let’s save money and bring troops home from Europe.

But I confess I’ve come across a budget-cutting strategy that even I can’t support. And it’s not in the area of national defense or public safety, which even I agree are legitimate functions of government.

Instead, I’m talking about the government-run healthcare system in the United Kingdom, which apparently is bribing hospitals to make greater use of the “Liverpool Care Pathway,” which is the UK version of a death panel. Here are some jaw-dropping excerpts from the…

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