As established by the great medical humanitarian, the late Dame Cecily Saunders, hospice was designed to treat "total pain" of patients -- whether physical, emotional, or spiritual -- to the end of ensuring that the care offered is about living, not just death. When it works as intended, as it did for both my parents, the beneficence offered to patients and their families cannot be quantified.

Alas, the hospice movement is in serious trouble. I can't tell you how often now people approach me after a speech or call in on talk radio to tell me that they do not trust ...