Obama Admin. Kills ‘End-of-Life-Counseling’
- Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:07am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Reversing a potentially controversial decision, the Obama administration will drop references to end-of-life counseling from the ground rules for Medicare’s new annual checkup, a White House official said Wednesday.
The latest shift on the sensitive subject comes ahead of a vote next week in the new GOP-led House to repeal President Barack Obama’s landmark health care overhaul. The decision is not likely to have much impact on patients and doctors already discussing options for care in the last stages of life.
Medicare coverage for voluntary end-of-life planning was part of the original House version of the overhaul legislation in 2009, but it was dropped after Sarah Palin and other Republicans raised the specter of “death panels” deciding the fate of vulnerable seniors. Those charges were later debunked by several non-partisan fact-checking groups.
End-of-life counseling unexpectedly surfaced again late last year in a Medicare regulation that spelled out what would be covered in a new annual checkup, or wellness visit, authorized by the health care law. The regulation said such voluntary doctor-patient discussions could be part of the annual visit.
The White House official said the administration is now pulling back the language because there wasn’t enough chance for all sides to comment on the change. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss what has turned into an embarrassing episode for the administration.
End-of-life planning is already an accepted part of care for people facing terminal illness, and the administration’s reversal is unlikely to have much impact on that. Longstanding federal rules already require hospital patients to be informed of their right to spell out in a living will or similar document their wishes about being kept alive by machinery if there’s no hope for a cure.
However, many doctors and public health advocates believe the government should take a more direct role in encouraging people to plan ahead. They say it would save families the ordeal of having to make agonizing decisions when a loved one is incapacitated.
Opponents counter that such decisions are highly personal, and government should stay out. They worry that explicitly including end-of-life counseling in Medicare rules could send an indirect message that people facing serious illness should be nudged toward hospice care, giving up on seeking a cure.
The new regulation was first reported by The New York Times.
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Comments (102)
loveoursoldiers
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:44amlet’s see.. is there an Easter recess? that’s when death panels will come back disguised.. on Friday.. .. executive order.. with a catchy title.. they probably hire people just to think up ambiguous rhetoric and titles.. it is a great skill to have.. could even get you in the oval office
Report Post »Redsolitaire
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:44amBreaking News!!!! Medicare and Medicaid have had limits and prohibitions for treatments and medicines since the inception of those programs!!
In other words, unless you got lots o’ bucks and/or supplemental insurance, your Medicare or Medicaid limits can decide if you live or die – been that way forever.
BTW, if you want to see Comrade Obama’s concept of federally provided health care, visit a Veterans’ Hospital or Nursing Home. My Mom lives in a Veteran’s Nursing Home and they make decisions all the time as to what medicines she can have based on her age, the potential for extending her life, etc. SHE (nor I) have any say in what treatments, exams, etc. she is allowed to have. Those decisions are definitely made from the perspective of cost vs. benefit, and the decisions do not involve any input from my Mom nor me (her family).
Nothing to see here, folks… move along.
Report Post »Speak without Fear
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:40amIt just means he isn‘t going to counsel you on why your life isn’t worth anything anymore…….
too much money for counseling……they are just going to call your number …..your time will be up then.
Report Post »Plankchapel
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:39amIt is surprising that Obama was in “job mode” to even know about it. Guess he had to come back from vacation, now that Pelosi got knocked out of her Control Chair.”
Obama hasn’t done anything positive — or told the truth — in two years. Why should we think he’s doing anything positive now, or telling the truth?
Report Post »Constitutional
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:35amDon’t believe it. They are liars. Turn your back for 2 seconds and it will be back, only with a new name. That’s what progressives do.
Report Post »Ray2447
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:33amCall me when he kills Obamacare.
Report Post »Mikee T
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:30amYeah sure………and meanwhile…that moron from Oregon that introduced it and his staff are already finding ways to circumvent that by just implementing it through regulation instead………Does everyone understand how evil our HUGE BUREAUCRACY and new “EVOLVING CONSTITUTION” is ? We have liberal Supreme Court Justices that have fundamentally changed and continue to change our constitution……….Federal agencies can now just create mandates (unconstitution mandates) by virtue of regulation only………completely averting congressional review and policy…..You would have to have congress review and repeal the particular agencies rules and regulations as a separate and subsequent measure to roll back all this control……it’s a huge problem….We have so many federal agencies out there right now and far too many with liberal progressive agendas, not to mention too much unabridged power……..Bad Bad Bad news….
Report Post »Bronco II
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:28amThey’ll change the language again and put weeping music or some sad sack person on to make you feel so sad and then ask you do you want your love one to suffer (HITLER) and that’s how it starts.
Report Post »LadyIzShy
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:27amoh it will show up again.. they will hide it somewhere else and we will just have to watch and wait to stomp it out again..
we SHOULD plan ahead but I do not in any way shape or form want the government telling me when or how or having any say at all EVER
Report Post »BuckOfama
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:27amI am all for Death Panels, for socialist, communist endowipes.
Report Post »REETZBEE
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:25amWhat are they going to rename it now?? Maybe these people are really transparent after all.
Report Post »AWatchman4Him
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:24amThey will just call it something simple that will include a larger group of people like “ Disability Options ”
Report Post »ARIZONA VETERAN
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:23ama post Veterans Day and New Years salute to oBowMa, clinton, nappytanno, EPA, naacp, seiu, afl-cio, la-raza, the CBC and their terrorist, union, liberal, democrat friends, from the “enemy & hostage takers” with love
Report Post »…………………/´¯/)…………
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gopsnativeson
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:55amThey’re all number 1 in my book also.
Report Post »PITMASTER
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:22amI don’t buy it. First, death panels existed, then they didn‘t and then they did and now they don’t. Please, quit dicking around with the American people. As long as Berwick has anything to do with health care implementation, you can bet your granny’s ass there will be end-of-life counseling.
Report Post »louzyana
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:40amThe approval rating… that‘s because he’s been on vacation again and hasn’t done anything.
Report Post »heavyduty
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:22amHe could have realized that if he does keep it in, then he doesn’t have that long before he will be receiving it also. Besides once they get it in place, then it can always be amended to further enhance it. But I agree with the first two comments here. People are going back to sleep again, this morning on FNC they said that Obambi’s approval rating was above 50% again.
Report Post »untameable-kate
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 12:48pmUnbelievable, I am sitting here trying to think of one good thing he has done for this country. Believe it or not I came up with one, one in two years with supermajorities to pass whatever he wanted and I got one. (Predator drone strikes)
Report Post »RightUnite
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:20amI for one am not buying it. Look away for one second, and it’ll be right back in there.
Report Post »ARIZONA VETERAN
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:20amamazing how much corruption is in this WHITE house, can’t wait til 2012 when the current POS is voted out of office and back to the slums of kenya….
Report Post »bonnie potts
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:20amthe real reason is the fact that they got CAUGHT trying to sneak it into bill.
Report Post »texasfarmer
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:19amIt will be there. Change the name, make an executive order, move to another department.
Report Post »midcoastmainepatriot
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:23amBINGO !!!! so true……..farmers are the smart ones
Report Post »UPSETVET
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 2:08pmIt’s the English pea and the three walnut shells trick. While you’re watching shell #1 and #3 the pea is shifted under shell #2. Is the hand quicker than the eye ? No, but the pea and shells game relies on the experience of the con artist and the inexperience of the players. The liberal and progressive socialist in the congress and senate have ben playing the pa and shells gam for years. They know how to manipulate things and create ilusions. The “death councils” aren’t going away, they’re just being given new names and shifted over to another area of the Obama Health Care Program. They’ll pop up somewhere at another time.
Report Post »123abc
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:17amThis is just temporary. He’ll find a way to work it back into the “plan”.
Report Post »JohnQTaxpayer
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:17amIt will be back under another name
Report Post »NickDeringer
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:14amThis is a head fake. ObamaCare can’t work without “Death Panels” and they know it. It’s their way of cutting costs. And don’t forget a healthy dose of rationing.
Report Post »chips1
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 5:25pmHe isn’t really interested in Death panels. It is only a small part. All he wants is to get his foot in the door. The whole health care scam has to be killed. One foot in the door and you bought a vacuum cleaner.
Report Post »Race
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:14amDon’t hold your breath, it’ll be back in another guise soon enough.
Report Post »pavnvet
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 2:39pmThe government has already put “end of life” counseling into effect at VA Hospitals across the country. They have “social workers” at every one of these facilities that are more than willing to discuss (urge) end of life (non) treatment.
As I have said many times, if anyone wants to see government run health care in action, come along with me on a trip to the VA Hospital. Go to this story in the WSJ:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204683204574358590107981718.html
I could write a book on my experiences with the VA. I no longer subject myself to their (lack of) care and have my health care needs taken care of by private physicians.
Report Post »NoMoreGray
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:13amDon’t get excited, they new the new GOP was going to block it anyway so he just wanted to be able to claim credit. Just like the “tax compromise.”
Report Post »lovenfl3
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:17amGood point nomoregray. I agree.
Report Post »mtnclimberjim
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:37amOh sure they killed it, trust them. They care for your well being. They only want the best for us.
Report Post »They should be tried for treason.
untameable-kate
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:48amThere is only one guy I’m going to do my end of life counseling with. What’s up with end of life counceling anyways? What happened to just letting your family know your wishes, making your will, and dying with dignity.
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:12amThey may change the name and the rhetoric surrounding it but you can take it to the bank, it will be back disguised as something else. Their plan will not work if they have to keep people alive.
Report Post »cnsrvtvj
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:14amThe Obama administration even tried to blame this one on Bush. They kept saying that this provision was done under the Bush administration when actually Bush vetoed the provision. Liberals never seem to get the facts straight.
http://www.donsmithshow.com – Conservative news and political humor.
Report Post »lovenfl3
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:16amThey’ll just try to slip it in again when they think nobody is looking. It’s the liberal way.
Report Post »joe conservative
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:21amThat was funny when they were saying it was a Bush thing. They never stop.
Report Post »RightUnite
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:21amExactly, it will just be hidden somewhere else.
Report Post »ilovethiscountry
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:21amMy children know what my wishes are if I am unable to decide for myself. I don’t see a need to discuss this with my doctor at an annual checkup.
Report Post »NoMoreGray
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:26amThe left is trying to keep you believing Obama is the most powerful person in DC, don’t buy it, it’s just colored water. Reps. Issa, Ryan, and Baughman are keepers of the power. Veto is not the only instrument that can be played in DC. Ryan controls the $, Issa’s oversite controls the regulation, and Baughman’s Tea party caucus keeps us at the table. Without these Reps support nothing gets through.
Report Post »Xcori8r
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:49amThey‘ll figure a way to yank Gramp’s plug one way or the other.
Report Post »NoMoreGray
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:50amWhen are people going to learn, every time Obama does something “good” we take one in the back. Example: We had to compromise with O an the tax extensions in the middle of December because if we waited a few mor weeks for 112th to do it our first couple of paychecks for the new year would be 20, 30, 50$, smaller. What no one mentioned was that O’s requirement for the “compromise” was adding in renewed stimulus components. No one said these components would stop you from getting your tax refunds until after Feb. 22nd. I would trade the 100$ at the beginning of Jan to get the 1000$ plus refund at the end of Jan. What about you?
Report Post »Marcobob69
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:55amEither that or it will mysteriously appear at a later date when attention is being focused elsewhere in some bill that is flying “under the radar”. That is the way most of this kind of sh&t gets passed, just look no further than the healthcare bill and you will understand.
Report Post »Curator_JDR
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:58amThey can LIE all they want. It doesn’t change policy.
This new animated short feature exposes the insanity of the Progressives with big time humor. http://www.marcrubin.com/hairmerica.ivnu An instant classic.
Report Post »AmericanSoldier
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 12:07pmThey don’t need to remove the name or the piece of the legislature. Death panels is an inherent part of socialized medicine. When you give away free healthcare but don’t have the supply, you must ration. Rationing will create de facto death panels. Government controls healthcare. Government is run by bureaucrats. Those Bureaucrats have to decide on the rationing, which is another term for deciding who gets what treatment. Those same Bureaucrats won’t have emotional ties to the patients and will use his own judgement on who should get the treatment.
I‘d rather go bankrupt trying to save my family members life then to sit there and hope that some Bureaucrat in some office thinks that the family member’s life is valuable enough to save. That is a death panel.
Report Post »tower7femacamp
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 12:07pmJust think what they will pass after they take down the internet
Report Post »http://www.infowars.com/censored-jesse-ventura-show-on-fema-camps-survives-on-you-tube/
snowleopard3200 {cat folk art}
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 12:24pmThis will sneak itself back into legislation or regulation is more than true. They will find some way to shove it down our throats; I have the bad feeling of something big is coming down the line shortly from the self-anointed one – they are still speaking of presidential executive orders being used to get things done the way they want it.
Report Post »tjdavid21444
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 12:41pmExactly right. What they are really talking about is a way to ration care, without having to actually say that. They want people to “voluntarily” forego treatments. Funny, Harry Reid also thinks that the federal income tax is “voluntary.” I wonder if there’s a connection?
Report Post »Polwatcher
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 1:09pmWe must always remember with all Democrats that it is the thought that counts. They wanted to kill old people, corrupt doctors, and lighten the burden for health care for Democratic voters. Especially since the older people are mostly conservative, have a good memory, and vote. The young and the ethnic Democrats would be the beneficiary of their evil plans. They wanted to balance the books on the back of the elderly and get rid of a contrary voting block in one swell foop. Evil people, these Democrats. (Republicans must prove they are better than this.)
Report Post »Jon_ny
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 1:24pmNo surprise with that staement. It will be back ! They want/need to kill off all those with sense.
Report Post »Tek
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 2:53pmAgreed! It’ll return tucked away in some other bill at some other time! I spent last night tracking down a thread I spotted in the “Stimulus Bill” that I feel is the heart of the Government Healthcare structure we’ll all get dumped into once Obamacare kills the Medical Provider and Medical Insurance industries — its REAL purpose — and it turns out to have begun with a GWBush executive order and the real meat of it has been inserted in half a dozen various random failed bills since then until it finally took root in the “Stimulus Bill”.
I’ll be launching my attack on it soon! Stay tuned! I’m out to cut some tendons!
Report Post »pamela kay
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 4:06pmGRANDMAOF5, you tell it like it is. You hit the nail on the head. Way to go. Happy New Year to you and yours. God Bless!
Report Post »walkwithme1966
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 7:28pmI have a really hard time believing that you actually believe that the government wants to end anyone life early so as to be able to control cost of healthcare program. Where do you people get this stuff – it is insane to believe that your government does that to people. Some times you have to stop believing this nonsense are you just become bitter, suspicious old people!! http://wp.me/pYLB7-uK
Report Post »clrkrd
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 10:10pmWalkwithme1966- we geet our ideas of rationing health care from the people who are advising our president and are part of his administration. The man who now runs medicare said this in a speach in 2008 Dr. Berwick is also a proponent of single-payer health care and he seems to have no problem with the rationing of care:
“We can make a sensible social decision and say, “Well, at this point, to have access to a particular additional benefit [new drug or treatment] is so expensive that our taxpayers have better use for those funds.” The decision is not whether or not we will ration care—the decision is whether we will ration with our eyes open.”
So call us crazy, but when they say it on their own words, it is kind of hard to ignore
Report Post »AmericanSoldier
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:23pmWALKWITHME1966 it’s not a matter of us believing (though some do) that there’s a group of Bureaucrats sitting in a dark, smelly office somewhere saying to eachother every morning “How many people are we going to kill by denying coverage today!”
It’s a matter of necessity. If you give EVERYONE free healthcare, including pre-existing conditions without any premium, who’s going to service these people? Rationing will have to occur, not by nefarious reasons but because when demand is greater than the supply, some people will come up short. Who makes the determination on who get the treatment and when? What will the standards be? Will they look at it as the productive level of the patient? Will my 2 year old denied treatment because I haven’t invested as much into my child as say a 17 year old who can start working for the Government real soon. Or is my 80 year old grandma not worth saving? She’s worth it to me.
If you got healthcare for free, how restricted would you be to see the Doctor for any little sniffle or cough you had?
Report Post »anna8
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:25pmAMEN,They think we are all stupid,of course it will be written up again only with special wording to fool those that can not comprehend.
Report Post »Polwatcher
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 7:17amAnyone who thinks that the hard nosed liberals in Congress passed this massive health care bill without ever thinking about rationing and killing old people is living in la la land.
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