Tax funding for Medicare advance care planning was a part of the original House bill for Obamacare that was dropped amidst controversy over critics’ charges that it was designed to save money by pushing senior citizens to agree to forego costly treat
Obama Administration Revives “Death Panels” Targeting Elderly and Disabled Patients
The Obama administration is reviving the controversial “death panels” that former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin famously lambasted and that have been condemned by pro-life groups as targeting disabled and elderly patients.
After years of debate about whether the government should be paying doctors to encourage so-callled end of life planning, which could involve pushing patients to seeking assisted suicide or give up basic medical care or lifesaving medical treatment, the Obama administration is reviving the idea. The Obama administration is pushing a proposal to pay doctors for “advance care planning” in Medicare.
The National Right to Life Committee, a top pro-life organization that is holding its annual convention in New Orleans, Louisiana this week, has already condemned the idea. The group told LifeNews.com that the Obama administration should instead provide for balanced, neutral materials to assist patients in implementing their own values. The pro-life group is worried that the advanced care planning “death panels” the Obama administration is pushing will push patients to reject life-preserving medical treatment and compel them to craft legal documents embodying that decision.
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