FEDERAL BILL PENDING:
MEDICARE REIMBURSEMENT
TO PHYSICIANS
FOR END-OF-LIFE COUNSELING

A new federal bill addresses Medicare reimbursements to physicians for time spent with end- of-life-consultations with their patients.  Each member is encouraged to click on the HR 1898 link below to see the details of a new bill and to write, phone or e-mail their senators and representatives asking them to support these bills. Also, in the Legislative Work link, in the last paragraph below, you would find links to the senate bill, termed "The Rockefeller Bill".   The Senate bill goes much further to encompass legislation funding and authorizing many more different aspects of advance care planning.

Also of note are the provisions in this bill to federally mandate the "right to know," similar to a recently passed California bill. The following appeared in C&C's national "In Thought & Action" newsletter:

Congressman Wants Funding
for Doctors and Patients
to Discuss Treatment Options

Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer, a long-time supporter of individual choice, has introduced federal legislation to encourage doctors to discuss end-of-life choices with their patients. HR 1898 IH is titled the “Life Sustaining Treatment Preferences Act of 2009,” and if passed, would not only allow health care professionals to bill Medicare for time spent discussing patient preferences, but also encourage discussion about all the treatment options available.

This spring Blumenauer spoke about the problem on the floor of the House of Representatives.

The irony is that the Medicare system will spend thousands and thousands of dollars on intense medical intervention, intense medical activities, but they won’t spend a few dollars to pay a doctor to have a conversation with a patient and the family about what they can expect, what their choices are, and to be able to engage with the patient and the family to decide what they want to have happen.

Blumenauer realized that too little discussion takes place between patients and their physicians regarding end-of-life treatment preferences. As a result there is often no planning for care at the end of life. The all-too-familiar result is that when a crisis does occur, the patient may be subjected to unwanted, futile and often painful medical procedures. He notes that a major impediment to planning for end-of-life treatment results from the fact that under current law, Medicare does not reimburse qualified practitioners for the time spent having such conversations with their patients.

As Blumenauer puts it, “It is the humane, compassionate thing to do. It will help us allocate our healthcare resources more appropriately to treat what people want, and it will relieve the pressure on the healthcare system so the default isn’t always the most intensive, expensive interventions that often deteriorate the quality of life in those final days.”

Compassion & Choices is working with members of Congress in both the House and Senate to secure successful passage of this bill.  Please check the Legislative Work page on the national office’s Web site for updates.