Does a patient’s ability to pay for health care make their life worth saving?

Does a patient’s ability to pay for health care make their life worth saving?
JAMA Open Network; by Zara Cooper, MD, MSc; 7/24
In this well-executed study using data from the American College of Surgeons Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP), Hoit et al demonstrated that the timing of withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment (WLST) in critically injured adults between ages 18 and 64 years was statistically associated with the type of insurance they carried. Specifically, the authors showed that even after accounting for patient and hospital characteristics, individuals without insurance were approximately 50% more likely to undergo WLST earlier than others who were insured (eg, private insurance or Medicaid). ... it is incumbent upon individual clinicians and health systems to closely and uncomfortably examine how bias either creeps or marches into the life-and-death decisions we make for everyone under our care.