Wednesday, January 5, 2011
The Obama administration today caved to Sarah Palin and the Tea Party loons and dropped a reference to end-of-life counseling from the ground rules for Medicare’s new annual checkup guidelines, a White House official said Wednesday.
The original House version of the Medicare overhaul legislation sought to allow for doctor/patient end-of-life discussions every few years. But the plan was dropped after Sarah Palin and the Tea Party mob 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 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.
But the White House said they are now reversing 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 another 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 any impact there. Federal rules 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 painful ordeal of having to make agonizing decisions when a loved one is incapacitated.
It’s very interesting. In 2008, I thought I had voted to elect then-Sen. Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States but with episodes like this, I realize I inadvertently elected Sarah Palin.
From the Left 
I am not happy that Obama has given into the Tea Baggers and the idiot Palin.
Now we will be hearing more bullshit from Sarah, and how this is what the “Real Americans” want. Spare me the nonsense.
Obama…………. you’re as useless as tits on a bull…………….
If Obama can’t stand up to Sarah Palin and her death panel lies, can we reasonably expect him to stand up to Los Zetas, or al Qaeda, or Obama bin Laden?
We elected a coward in 2008. 2012 can’t get here soon enough.
As unpleasant it may be to think about, most of us will face end-of-life choices for loved ones. I saw what my mother and father went through with their parents — my grandparents, and fortunately, they had superb health care providers to inform and educate them along the way.
The doctors who help family members with end-of-life choices are the unsung heros of our society and they deserve to be compensated for their time and expertise. The two hours they spend with you are two hours they can’t see other patients. To think our president ceded this important part of Medicare reform to that dumb broad from Wasilla, says more about his lack of character than Palin’s.
End-of-life counseling was one of the sweeteners that was supposed to blunt some of the hideousness of Obama’s wealthcare plan for the HMOs, health insurers, and Big Pharma. Now, he even gets rid of that.
Chump change indeed.
I’m so sick of Obama and his administration not being able to communicate or
argue their points. Shame on them.
And who didn’t see this coming?
They could try to focus people on Klan Brewer’s ACTUAL death panel, but they prefer to act like little pissant cowards.
Obama is a pussy. Case closed.
I was an RN for 10 years before becoming a Nurse Practitioner. I’ve worked PACU, med surg, and emergency. Even a brief stint in a nursing home when I first got out of school. End-of-life discussions are an important part of the doctor/patient relationship and help families make informed decisions when a loved one won’t get better and yes, sadly, will die. This discussion isn’t a “death panel.” President Obama should be ashamed of himself for not standing firm on this.
Obama is such a disappointment.