[2006alum]

National discussion pre-empted, per HHS bulletin released today (from NYTimes update): Federal civil rights office rejects rationing medical care based on disability or age https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/...-28-20.pdf

I'm not sure I think that that bulletin changes much:

Decisions by covered entities concerning whether an individual is a candidate for treatment should be based on an individualized assessment of the patient based on the best available objective medical evidence.

All this suggests, to me, is that you can't have a blanket policy that says "everyone over 60 dies." But co-morbidities, sliding scale considerations of age relative to co-morbidities, etc. could still be taken into consideration on a patient by patient basis. 

(Though I'll confess that a friend of mine who works in emergency medicine in one of the regions that's already been hard hit said their hospital did discuss, but has not yet had to implement, a blanket DNI (do not intubate) provision for suspected COVID-19 patients over 60 if it got really bad. That was over a week ago, and fortunately it had not come close to that point as of Thursday, when I last talked to them.)

[2006alum]

National discussion pre-empted, per HHS bulletin released today (from NYTimes update): Federal civil rights office rejects rationing medical care based on disability or age https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/...-28-20.pdf

I'm not sure I think that that bulletin changes much:

Decisions by covered entities concerning whether an individual is a candidate for treatment should be based on an individualized assessment of the patient based on the best available objective medical evidence.

All this suggests, to me, is that you can't have a blanket policy that says "everyone over 60 dies." But co-morbidities, sliding scale considerations of age relative to co-morbidities, etc. could still be taken into consideration on a patient by patient basis. 

(Though I'll confess that a friend of mine who works in emergency medicine in one of the regions that's already been hard hit said their hospital did discuss, but has not yet had to implement, a blanket DNI (do not intubate) provision for suspected COVID-19 patients over 60 if it got really bad. That was over a week ago, and fortunately it had not come close to that point as of Thursday, when I last talked to them.)