Doctors and nurses at HCA Healthcare, the largest hospital chain in the U.S., have raised concerns about hospital policies that push patients to begin end-of-life care when there may be other options available. A report by NBC News found that this practice lowers HCA’s rate of in-hospital deaths and makes beds available for more profitable patients. HCA’s CEO compensation is tied to in-hospital deaths, setting a dangerous incentive to reduce that number at the cost of quality patient care.
Our health care system devalues the lives of people with disabilities and chronic health conditions. HCA Healthcare’s use of internal policies and algorithms to deter patients from continuing life-lengthening care means this hospital system is acting in the interest of profits, not patients. Entering hospice must always be a personal choice. A hospital that pressures patients to stop life-saving treatment if they are perceived as likely to die will cause premature deaths among people with disabilities who seek treatment.
ASAN is deeply against any policies, formal or informal, that devalue the lives of people with disabilities and make us more likely to die, whether that be medical rationing due to COVID-19 cases, physician-assisted suicide, restrictions on organ transplantation for people with disabilities, or policies that push patients into hospice prematurely. We will continue to fight to prevent the deadly consequences of these policies.
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network seeks to advance the principles of the disability rights movement with regard to autism. ASAN believes that the goal of autism advocacy should be a world in which autistic people enjoy equal access, rights, and opportunities. We work to empower autistic people across the world to take control of our own lives and the future of our common community, and seek to organize the autistic community to ensure our voices are heard in the national conversation about us. Nothing About Us, Without Us!