End-of-Life Provision Loses Favor

The Wall Street Journal ^ | 08-13-09 | JANET ADAMY

[GOP_Lady]

The cost of caring for patients who are near death accounts for a big piece of the government's medical spending. But a furor over a provision for government-paid counseling to plan for end-of-life care is steering lawmakers away from the issue.

Tucked inside a sweeping House bill to overhaul the health system is a provision that would require Medicare to pay physicians to counsel patients once every five years. During those sessions, doctors could discuss how patients can plan for such end-of-life decisions as setting up a living will, obtaining hospice care or establishing a proxy to make their health decisions when they are unable to do so.

The end-of-life counseling provision in the House bill is expected to cost a few billion dollars over the next decade. But health policy experts say it could lower medical spending by reducing end-of-life medical care that patients don't want.

[GOP_Lady]

[montanajoe]

A accommodation to those who think life goes on forever...

[Shiandra]

It can also be used to encourage elderly people to give up early.

The same government that would like to run our healthcare is the one that sends out the social security checks. Conflict of interest?

[Iron Munro]

[DBrow]

Any doctor or nurse can do the counseling now, at a regular office visit.

And how do we receive care we don’t want? My doctor makes me get an extra colonoscopy, or a chest plate when I merely have a cold? Hey, how about a bypass or lithotripsy, pal? These are things we can handle.

I bet they make a big deal about taking it out but leave in the commission that determines what treatments are necessary and essential and effective.

[advance_copy]

Barak Obama threw his own grandmother under the bus. And now he wants to throw everyone else’s grandmother under the bus too.

[GeronL]

It is not one provision, it is the entire bill

[GeronL]

A accommodation to those who think life goes on forever...

a political gimmick designed to soften opposition. There are 5 different bills floating around the House, we have no idea what the final bill will look like. We just know it won't be good.

[TBP]

OBAMA LIES, GRANNY DIES!

[montanajoe]

It probably wont be good. As I have said earlier like it or not some kind of government healthcare is coming down the pike. Folks can stop this one and get something far worse in the future or make this one the best possible..

[FlingWingFlyer]

Obama’s “shovel ready” healthcare plan for seniors.

[GeronL]

I totally disagree.

[NonValueAdded]

The Urban Institute, a nonpartisan research center, found that the government could save $90.8 billion over 10 years by better managing end-of-life care. The savings would result from training aimed at discouraging doctors from providing care simply because they would get paid for it, and from having teams at hospitals help terminally ill patients manage their pain once they chose to stop treatment, among other things. The institute's report, issued last month, concluded that much end-of-life spending isn't sought by patients and goes against their families' expressed preferences.

Sorry, but a group with the moniker "Urban Institute" doesn't sound non-partisan just on the face of it. And there are those damned doctors, running up the bill again. Just how many times can they perform a tonsillectomy, anyway?

Maybe all that end-of-life care that the family "doesn't want" is because families can change their mind and all it takes is one kid to find a wrongful death lawyer and its game over for the doc. And there never is that one kid who wants a big piece of the pie, is there?

Well, it is a good thing tort reform is a major part of HR3200. What? You don't say? not a peep about it?

[exDemMom]

And there are those damned doctors, running up the bill again.

Yeah, really. In 2007, I had TWO surgeries performed by the same doctor, for a cost of about $6,000. OMG, what a money grubber! I bet he was just doing those surgeries for the money!

Never mind the fact that I had a broken arm, and the bones wouldn't have come back together on their own. He only did it for the money!

[SoConPubbie]

It probably wont be good. As I have said earlier like it or not some kind of government healthcare is coming down the pike. Folks can stop this one and get something far worse in the future or make this one the best possible..

You sure you're on the right web-site buddy?

We're conservatives here, we don't give up our liberties and freedoms without a fight.

[montanajoe]

Sorry I'm not a useful idiot for insurance companies. As an conservative I expect contract to be honored, I expect trust and fair dealing from those I contract with. Insurance companies are liars and basically thieves they take your premium with no intention of paying should you be so unfortunate as to have a chronic illness or catascropic accident. I'm no fan a government anything but at least a public system has some accountability to the insured. Insurance companies have no none zilch accountability.

[DBrow]

“at least a public system has some accountability to the insured”

Like the “stimulus packages” or the auto bailouts, or maybe the 2 bn the Fed loaned to someone?

Kill this bill and use that victory to politically weaken the proponents, vote them out in 2010, and assure that nobody tries this again, is a better plan than the Marxist attitude of “it’s inevitable”.

[SoConPubbie]

Sorry I'm not a useful idiot for insurance companies. As an conservative I expect contract to be honored, I expect trust and fair dealing from those I contract with. Insurance companies are liars and basically thieves they take your premium with no intention of paying should you be so unfortunate as to have a chronic illness or catascropic accident. I'm no fan a government anything but at least a public system has some accountability to the insured. Insurance companies have no none zilch accountability.

There you go proving you are on the wrong web-site.

There is NOTHING in the constitution giving the Federal government the right to control health care, NOTHING!

Furthermore, if you think taking away my liberties and freedom and controlling my healthcare so you have "accountability to the insured" is a good thing, and will work, you're nuts!

Remember the immortal words of Reagan:

And I paraphrase:

"The scariest words ever heard are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help"

Or even better:

"In these troubled time, Government is not the solution, Government is the Problem".

Gain some wisdom my friend, you are lacking.

[SoConPubbie]

Gain some wisdom my friend, you are lacking.

Hey, montanajoe,

I want to apologize for that last statement of mine. It was over the top.

For the rest of it though, I hope you do rethink the idea of government involvement in the Healthcare issue.

It will have nothing but a negative effect, especially with the Chief Marxist we have right now.