Medicare said Wednesday it plans to pay doctors to counsel patients
about end-of-life care, the same idea that sparked accusations of "death
panels" and fanned a political furor around President Barack Obama's
health care law six years ago.
The policy change, to take effect Jan. 1, was tucked into a massive
regulation on payments for doctors. It suggests that what many doctors
regard as a common-sense option is no longer seen by the Obama
administration as politically toxic. Counseling would be entirely
voluntary for patients.
Some doctors already have such conversations with their patients without
billing extra. Certain private insurers have begun offering
reimbursement. But an opening to roughly 55 million Medicare
beneficiaries could make such talks far more common. About
three-quarters of the people who die each year in the U.S. are 65 and
older, making Medicare the largest insurer at the end of life, according
to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
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