We-Have-To-Pass-It-To-Find-Out-What’s-In-It Fact of the Day
Turns out the letter of the law means almost nothing:
When a proposal to encourage end-of-life planning touched off a political storm over “death panels,” Democrats dropped it from legislation to overhaul the health care system. But the Obama administration will achieve the same goal by regulation, starting Jan. 1…
The new rule says Medicare will cover “voluntary advance care planning,” to discuss end-of-life treatment, as part of the annual visit…
The rule was issued by Dr. Donald M. Berwick, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and a longtime advocate for better end-of-life care…
“Using unwanted procedures in terminal illness is a form of assault,” Dr. Berwick has said. “In economic terms, it is waste. Several techniques, including advance directives and involvement of patients and families in decision-making, have been shown to reduce inappropriate care at the end of life, leading to both lower cost and more humane care.”
The full story.
Ah, the death panels are back. Actually end of life counseling is probably a good idea. But you see what happens to good ideas when the people running the program have lost the confidence of the American people.
Of course. Same with admin law v. common law. Can’t get the people to pass a law through their legislators? No problem; get one of your agencies to make a rule.
End-of-life counseling is necessary both for the patient and loved ones. But having care-givers, such as doctors, nurses, et al., involved in this counseling is a very different proposition than having a bureaucrat who, though perhaps caring, has no personal knowledge of the patient or his/her wishes and must strictly adhere to rules.
Bruce, don’t you think it is rather amazing that the administration totally ignored the language of the bill?
It’s also interesting that after they did this, they didn’t want anyone to know about it. What are they trying to hide?
You promised the full story below the fold, but of course this isn’t the full story. There is a lot here that doesn’t meet the eye.
Berwick sounds like he’s just itching to pull the plug.