America believes in second chances.

Dear Congressman Smith:

Thank you for your response. However, I noticed you did not even attempt to respond to my question. In fact, I’m left to wonder if you even read my original e-mail. Let me recap. Ezra Klein’s “insightful article,” which you reference in your response, discusses a proposal that to be eligible for Medicare, you would have to give someone power-of-attorney and sign a living will. You could tell your attorney-in-fact, and write in your living will, that you want every possible measure employed to keep you alive. You could say cost is no object, and neither is pain or quality of life. Or, you could instruct your attorney-in-fact not to prolong your life by extraordinary measures if you lost consciousness in a long, fatal illness or simply old age. You could make whatever choice, and offer whatever instructions, you want. You just have to do it. You have to make the decision.

So, I’ll ask again: Are you FOR or AGAINST a mandatory power-of-attorney and living will to be eligible for Medicare benefits? State whether you are FOR or AGAINST this idea, and then you can explain your position all you want. I know you will support only those changes to Medicare that do not penalize our nation's seniors. I want to know if you support THIS proposed change to Medicare.

Thank you in advance, Congressman, for your straight-forward response on your second attempt. Which I will post on my blog.

Regards,
luridtransom