White House attempts to quiet revived talk of 'death panels'

the hill ^ | 12/27/10 | Jason Millman

[Nachum]

The Obama administration is trying to quiet talk about so-called “death panels” after The New York Times reported Sunday that a new Medicare regulation includes incentives for end-of-life-care planning.

The Medicare policy will pay doctors for holding end-of-life-care discussions with patients, according to the Times. A similar provision was dropped from the new healthcare reform law after Republicans accused the administration of withholding care from the sick, elderly and disabled.

However, an administration spokesman said the regulation, which is less specific than the reform law's draft language, is actually a continuation of a policy enacted under former President George W. Bush.

"The only thing new here is a regulation allowing the discussions … to happen in the context of the new annual wellness visit created by [healthcare reform]," Obama spokesman Reid Cherlin told The Wall Street Journal.

In 2003, Medicare added a consultation visit for seniors new to the program, according to the Journal. Another 2008 law, enacted under Bush, said the visit can include “end-of-life” planning discussions.

[Nachum]

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[freedumb2003]

It looks like we are going to be going back to “Turn in your neighbor to the SS for badmouthing obamacare” again.

Ah, so good to see the golden 1940’s Germany environment again...

[Nachum]

http://www.floppingaces.net/2010/12/28/the-return-of-the-death-panels-and-the-democrats-want-to-keep-it-hush-hush/

[PghBaldy]

He’s gonna death panel the death panel talkers.

[freekitty]

Then why throw it out there?

[cubreporter]

Then all of us should SCREAM IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN and then OVER AGAIN!! Death Panels are exactly what they are!!! Scream it loud and clear for all to hear.

[BamaDi]

And yet again it’s “blame Bush”......I’m so sick of this punk I could scream........

[Brilliant]

If Bush did it too, then that proves it’s a totalitarian plot.

[marron]

The Medicare policy will pay doctors for holding end-of-life-care discussions with patients

The end-of-life counseling is not the "death panel". That was never the intent of the remark, this was the evasion.

The bureaucrat who defines which treatments will be available to you and which ones will not, this is your "death panel". The formula by which based on age and quality of life and cost of procedure some dweeb writing regulations decides the treatment you need is not on the menu of treatments available to you, this is the "death panel".

[ExTexasRedhead]

Mark Belling covered this extensively in his first hour on Rush’s show yesterday. Callers were quite livid and quite upset.

[JPG]

Don’t doubt Sarah. She is right, again.

[Godwin1]

The purpose of "end of life" counseling is to bully and browbeat the elderly and infirm to refuse care. The bureaucrats want to make them feel selfish for availing themselves of the pain-lessening and life extending miracles of modern medicine. Monies saved by sending the elderly to premature death will be used for MEDICAID, a massive transfer to the 20 million illegals Obama and the Dem's. plan to amnesty in order to create a massive dependent subproeletariat of Democrat voters. Early in the Obamacare debate, Obama begrudged the end of life treatment given his own grandmother, the woman who raised him. What can the rest of us expect?

[Jumper]

The Dem’s removed the Death Panel legistation in order to add it back at a later time, that way it didn’t exsit until now. Palin was right on the mark over a year ago on this topic. The Dem’s have mandated this as determining factor and under Bush it “could” be a “consideration”. There is a difference between making it mandatory part of the ObamaCare and being something people could consider with doctors....

[lwd]

Next, they’ll try to slip public funding of abortion in the same way. Who needs laws passed by congress when you control the bureaucracies and can force them to dictate your ideology?

[stubernx98]

It was in the legislation in 2008 passed by the Dims, and vetoed by Bush then overridden by the Dims.

So, true it was enacted during Bush - but again the WH lies lies lies.

[BobP]

Baby killing and senior killing are included...

That's Ol' Scratch at his finest...

Uncle Scratch

[momtothree]

Medicare will PAY doctors to discuss end of life plans with patients. I am assuming that the more patients that choose to simply die, the more money the doctor will get, right? Talk about using the medical profession as paid assassins. Any good doctor will discuss with a patient what treatments are available, the outcome of the procedures and allow the person (with his or her family) to make decisions. A unscrupulous doctor may “talk” a person into NOT having a procedure knowing full well that the treatment would either save their life or at least extend it. This is very frightening to me. IMHO