First of all, the quoted charges while they may be valid in some areas, are NOT additive. I've been through this scenario with terminally ill parents and it is extremely rare that this level of care has to be sustained for more than a few weeks. As a rule, comatose patients are not kept in ICU if they have no other threatening issues. Second, X-Ray and lab tests are not performed daily, and routine meds and IV's are nowhere near as costly as indicated. A typical nursing home with full time care rarely costs more than a few thousand a month, and Medicare currently covers most of the costs of that.
But comatose or terminal patients today can be placed into hospice care where they receive excellent nursing and counseling, their own staff of doctors, and the requisite palliative care to keep them lucid and pain-free. Ordinarily these are terminal cases that require only a few weeks or months of care, but it is absolutely outstanding in quality and extremely respectful of the patient. Best of all, its cost is totally covered by Medicare, so the individual or the family is not buried by end-of-life expenses.
Granted, our medical services are FAR too expensive, but the apportioned cost of our technology is reflected in these expenses. The answer lies in providing appropriate treatment, not necessarily to stretch life to the last instant, regardless of cost. Consider palliative, or hospice care as an alternative.
If you want to limit the cost of your own care, sign a living will indicating "no heroic measures" be taken to preserve your life when the outcome is inevitable. When considering what measures should be taken to preserve your life, consider the fact that we have the technology to drag you through days of misery - but at some point you need to recognize that you and I are mortal, and rather than impose a financial burden on the family in exchange for a few more tortured hours, it's time to let go.
These are decisions each of us must make with our families before they are needed. It's not always something we want to talk about, but it's as necessary - and inescapable as tax planning.
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