[tomatsu]

There are probably some people who go with the DNR route because the healthcare system isn't that great in the US. They might prefer being 6 feet under over being crushed by debt.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_debt

> 70 million Americans either have difficulty paying for medical treatment or have medical debt.

[crispyambulance]

The main reason to go DNR is for quality of life concerns. Once an elderly person has already been impaired by a stroke or some other chronic condition, adding more "medicalized" life-extension on top of that is cruel.

24-7 skilled nursing care is a miserable way to exist, regardless of who pays the US ~ $10K/month bill.

[criddell]

RadioLab did an interesting podcast on DNR orders:

http://www.radiolab.org/story/262588-bitter-end/

I think people don't go the DNR route because their understanding of outcomes (from something like CPR) comes from television. Reality is much worse.

[JoeAltmaier]

Depending on age, its always possible to just skip and start over? Preferable to being dead.