Virtual Mentor. January 2007, Volume 9, Number 01

Ethics Poll

The cost of cancer treatment--and smoking

The Ethics Poll is a snapshot of the opinions of interested readers.

Which of the following best explains your understanding of your present health insurance coverage. If I were to get cancer:
All of my treatment-related expenses would be eligible for coverage.
My treatment-related expenses would be eligible for coverage up to a pre-set limit. After that, treatments would not be covered.
Treatment-related expenses that were deemed to be experimental or not generally accepted by the medical community would not be eligible for coverage.
I don't know what treatment-related expenses would be covered.

A 16-year-old chose to stop cancer treatments in favor of alternative therapy that had no empirical proof of effectiveness. His parents supported his decision, but his physicians reported the family to the state because the teen was refusing clinically proven care that they believed would save his life. Do you think the physicians acted properly?
Yes
No

Which of following best describes how you feel about employers' no-smoking policies.
As long as employees observe "no-smoking" areas, their behavior should not be of concern to the employer.
Employers have a right to impose a surcharge on smokers' contribution to their health insurance because they are at increased risk for illness.
After providing free smoking cessation classes and issuing a warning, a company can fire employees who have not quit in order to protect the health of other employees.

View results
Poll results reflect the opinions of visitors to the site who voluntarily answer the poll questions. Those visitors do not represent a random sample of Virtual Mentor readers. The viewpoints expressed on this site are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the AMA.