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Taming the Beloved Beast: Medical Technology and Health Care Costs
Public invited to seminar at Hastings Center this Friday
The rising cost of health care is on people's minds more and more these days. It is a growing concern at all levels of American society - from the average citizens who need to be treated, to the health care professionals who provide the care, to the presidential candidates who seek ways to deal with the national health care dilemma.
A major factor in the continued rise in health care costs is the ever-increasing cost of medical technology. Daniel Callahan PhD, co-founder of The Hastings Center, will present a lecture entitled: "Taming the Beloved Beast: Medical Technology and Health Care Costs" on Friday, May 16, at 5pm at The Hastings Center, 21 Malcolm Gordon Road in Garrison. It is the latest in the Center's Garrison Seminar series and is open to the public.
"There is a growing understanding that the control of health care costs must now be considered as important as the problem of the uninsured" Callahan stated in an article that appeared on the Bioethics Forum website (www.bioethicsforum.org) in February of this year. In the article, Callahan goes on to say that American health expenditures may double within ten years, from $2.1 trillion to $4 trillion. "Cost escalation has been one of the important reasons for the steady increase in the number of the uninsured. Moreover…medical technology accounts for about 50% of the annual cost increase" Callahan concludes in the article.
The Garrison Seminars encourage Putnam County residents to learn more about The Hastings Center and the important ethical issues it addresses. Several times each year, Center researchers, board members, Fellows, or noted writers in bioethics, give a presentation in the Center's library. Audience members participate in a question-and-answer session, and are invited to stay for a wine-and-cheese reception that follows.
Admission is free, however, seating is limited. RSVP by email to Tina Settembrino at SettembrinoT@thehastingscenter.org or call her at 424-4040 ext 202.
The Hastings Center is located on Route 9D between the St. Basil Academy and Philipstown Park. An independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit bioethics research institute, it was founded in 1969 to explore fundamental and emerging questions in medicine, health care and biotechnology. Learn more at www.thehastingscenter.org.
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