As someone who had a parent die I have seen how hard it is to estimate the actual date of death. For months we were told my Mother wouldn't live through the day and yet she continued to fight. She desperately wanted to live. This article was a very sad reminder of the situation of Health Care in our country. We can't even die gracefully anymore.

Technology is also now put to use to extend peoples' lives - sometimes to their own detriment. Someone with multiple chronic conditions probably shouldn't be a candidate to receive a defibrillator, for example, because that only assists with part of their illness. Instead, physicians implant the high-ticket, medicare-covered device because they'll receive payment for that part. They don't receive payment if the patient is no longer around to treat.