Should Foreigners Get Costly Lifesaving Treatments in the United States?
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-2018
Identifier
DOI: 10.1542/peds.2018-0175
Abstract
Many foreign parents bring their children to the United States for medical treatments that are unavailable in their own country. Often, however, parents cannot afford expensive treatments. Doctors and hospitals then face a dilemma. Is it ethically permissible to consider the patient's citizenship and ability to pay? In this Ethics Rounds, we present a case in which a child from another country needs an expensive treatment. His parents cannot afford the treatment. He has come to a public hospital in the United States. We present responses from experts in pediatrics, bioethics, and health policy.
Journal Title
Pediatrics
Volume
142
Issue
5
MeSH Keywords
Child; Decision Making; Delivery of Health Care; Dissent and Disputes; Emigrants and Immigrants; Ethics, Medical; Health Care Costs; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; Humans; Life Support Care; Male; Parents; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma; United States
Keywords
Child; Decision Making; Delivery of Health Care; Dissent and Disputes; Emigrants and Immigrants; Ethics, Medical; Health Care Costs; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; Humans; Life Support Care; Male; Parents; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma; United States
Recommended Citation
Wo SR, Largent EA, Brosco J, Rosenberg AR, Goodman KW, Lantos JD. Should Foreigners Get Costly Lifesaving Treatments in the United States?. Pediatrics. 2018;142(5):e20180175. doi:10.1542/peds.2018-0175
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