In the past two weeks, The Washington Post published two op-ed columns on the end-of-life provision in the House's health reform bill, one by Post editorial writer Charles Lane and the other by house conservative Charles Krauthammer. The proposal would permit Medicare to pay doctors for discussing issues of death and dying with their patients. But the two columns, each [...]
I got back last night from two days in St. Paul, Minn, where I worked with a few dozen deeply commited people who are looking for concrete solutions to the challenges of long-term care. The program was sponsored by the Citizen's League, and it brought together nursing home executives, retired physicans, lobbyists, state officials, advocates for the elderly and the disabled, care [...]
I'm off to St. Paul to particpate in a two-day workshop on long-term care sponsored by the Minnnesota Citizens League, a non-profit dedicated to finding common ground on important policy issues among business, government, community organizations, and individuals. The progam, entitled Creating Incentives for Personal Responsibility in Long-Term Care, has exactly the right goal: Finding community solutions to the challenges of caring for [...]
In recent weeks, we've heard end-of-life counseling compared to government run "death boards." This rhetoric is beyond irresponsible, but it lays bare a very important problem--too many of us have no idea what living wills and other advance directives do, or how they work. So, a brief primer: In short, these legal documents allow you to tell doctors and hospitals [...]
The most bizarre episode so far in Washington's health care debate is the persistent rumor that the House version of reform would force Medicare patients to participate in counseling sessions where they would "learn how to end their life sooner." This is a lie. The House bill would do no such thing. Yet the myth persists, thanks to constant repetition by conservative radio talk show hosts such [...]