Dx: Fear Rx: The Facts about Health Care Reform – “Death Panel” Sarah
by Alta Price, M.D.
(cross-posted at Quadsville.com in Dr Dx's Blog)
At Facebook, Sarah Palin worries about her parents or baby with Down Syndrome standing “in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘level of productivity in society,’ whether they are worthy of health care”.
My first reaction: What?!?!?!?
This craziest of claims is on every blog, on T.V., and repeated by Republicans in Congress. Since she neglects to cite the HR 3200 page describing these “death panels”, I can only conclude this is one of the more fantastical interpretations of the section on reimbursing physicians if a patient wants help planning for end-of-life care (making a living will).
My mother passed away last August. Her choice of in-home hospice care, completely paid for by her government plan (a.k.a. Medicare), let her die at home, surrounded by her family. Yes, it saved Medicare some money, too. But it was her decision, and if she had wanted hospitalization for the last two weeks of her life, under HR 3200 she could have had that instead. Furthermore, nothing in the bill requires anyone to think about the care they want at the end of their life or to have a living will. But if you want to make your wishes known to your doctor and family, Medicare will pay your doctor to help you with your advance directive. Even the AMA, staunchly opposed to voluntary euthanasia, supports this provision.
Governor Palin, how did you get from Medicare paying doctors for their time working on a patient’s living will to “death panels”?
Dr Dx
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Wild Assertions and Hysterical Claims: “Page 425-430: More bureaucracy: Advance Care Planning Consult: Senior Citizens, assisted suicide, euthanasia?; Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney, etc. Mandatory. Appears to lock in estate taxes ahead of time; Government provides approved list of end-of-life resources, guiding you in death; Government mandates program that orders end-of-life treatment; government dictates how your life ends; Advance Care Planning Consult will be used to dictate treatment as patient's health deteriorates. This can include an ORDER for end-of-life plans. An ORDER from the GOVERNMENT; Government will decide what level of treatments you may have at end-of-life.”
TRUTH: All of these hysterical claims have been debunked elsewhere. HR3200 provides for the reimbursement of a voluntary session of end-of-life counseling with your physician once every five years. This in no way means the government will make decisions for patients or encourage doctor-assisted suicide. Counseling simply makes patients and their families aware of their options.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), who co-authored the provision, released a fact sheet on advance planning consultations in the House health care bill that states: “Myth: Patients will be forced to have this consultation once every five years. FACT: Advance planning consultations are not mandatory; this benefit is completely voluntary. The provision merely provides coverage under Medicare to have a conversation once every five years if – and only if – a patient wants to make his or her wishes known to a doctor. If desired, patients may have consultations more frequently if they are chronically ill or if their health status changes.”
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