U.S. Alters Rule on Paying for End-of-Life Planning

[Freddie Stubbs]

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration, reversing course, will revise a Medicare regulation to delete references to end-of-life planning as part of the annual physical examinations covered under the new health care law, administration officials said Tuesday.

The move is an abrupt shift, coming just days after the new policy took effect on Jan. 1.

Many doctors and providers of hospice care had praised the regulation, which listed “advance care planning” as one of the services that could be offered in the “annual wellness visit” for Medicare beneficiaries.

While administration officials cited procedural reasons for changing the rule, it was clear that political concerns were also a factor. The renewed debate over advance care planning threatened to become a distraction to administration officials who were gearing up to defend the health law against attack by the new Republican majority in the House.

more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/health/policy/05health.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

[Tansy_Gold]

1. Wimped out again, huh? n/t

[flpoljunkie]

2. Read the article. It is confusing. Perhaps it's no longer paid for?

“We will amend the regulation to take out voluntary advance care planning,” the official said. “This should not affect beneficiaries’ ability to have these voluntary conversations with their doctors.”

[Enthusiast]

3. GOP miscreants and professional obfuscators

are using end-of-life planning to bash the HCR law. They characterize it as DEATH PANELS. I think this was a wise move by the administration and I seldom agree with anything they do. This move will serve to disarm GOP HCR critics. Too bad they had to do this as it was a humane provision that would have saved potentially billions of dollars. But we are dealing with REPUBLICANS.

[Tansy_Gold]

4. How can you characterize this as a "wise" move?

Because it "disarms" puke critics who were criticizing a money-saving and humanitarian policy by calling it something it's not? By making people pay for a "conversation" that may make their end of life decisions less painful? Say what?


It's a bad move, a wimpy spineless move, a stupid move. IMHO, of course


TG, TT

[Enthusiast]

5. The media is in

the tank for the false death panel claims. I hate it too. RW relatives send me e-mails with outrageous death panel claims. Seniors also believed the death panel bullshit. These 'followers' are convinced because our case is seldom made outside of MSNBC.