Old Age and New Policy

To the Editor.—  The medical profession is well aware of governmental and societal needs to contain the cost of providing care to the American population. However, a recent commentary by Dr Callahan¹ attempts to create new meaning for geriatric care under the guise of cost containment and allocation of resources.Franz Kafka could not have portrayed a more ominous view of our society than Dr Callahan when he proposed "a flat age limitation on the most expensive forms of life-extending care." We are not a homogeneous society. Any physician actively participating in the care of our geriatric segment of the population can attest to the fact that some 85-year-olds are more productive and functional than some of our 60-year-olds, who may have reached the end of their "natural life span in the sense of our common biographies." To follow Dr Callahan's train of thought, the next segment of