Feds May Reimburse Medicare 'End-of-Life Discussions' After Mocking Palin's 'Death Panels'

Breitbart's Big Government ^ | August 31, 2014 | Tony Lee

[2ndDivisionVet]

Years after former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was mocked for being concerned about "death panels," the federal government may reimburse Medicare doctors for end-of-life consultations that critics say would only encourage sick patients to reject costly treatments to prolong life.

The New York Times reports that "Medicare may begin covering end-of-life discussions next year if it approves a recent request from the American Medical Association," which is "the country’s largest association of physicians and medical students" and creates "billing codes for medical services, codes used by doctors, hospitals and insurers."

According to the Times, the group "recently created codes for end-of-life conversations and submitted them to Medicare" and The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is expected to make a decision in the fall that could "profoundly affect the American way of dying."

As the Times notes, "end-of-life planning remains controversial," especially after Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's "'death panel' label killed efforts to include it" in Obamacare. The Obama administration tried to sneak in a provision in a 2010 regulation before it "had Medicare rescind that portion of the regulation" after intense political pressure...

[onedoug]

How many babies are aborted each day?

Seems only “progressive”, right?