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How did allowing doctors to give out that admission and paying them out of Medicare save money? I never did understand that. However, I made an appointment with a lawyer to take care of my problems so i could refuse to make money for some doctor to give me that info. Isn't that very American of me, trying to save money?
Hey, anyone who thinks that "death counseling" doesn't already exist, hasn't had the sad duty of seeing a loved one through the end of life.
My husband was admitted to the hospital on Oct 17 because he had an infection and very low blood pressure. He had been on dialysis for almost three years. On the evening of the 17th I spoke to him just before he went to sleep at about midnight, he told me not to call in the morning, to let him sleep late, and that he would call me when he woke up. He never woke up. He was discovered to be in a lite coma the next morning and by noon we had put him on a ventilator. It was discovered that his liver had failed, and the ammonia level in his brain had caused a coma. We were told that his prognosis was not good, the best we could expect was to maybe wake him up long enough to take him home to die. We choose to remove all life support, the ventilator, the dialysis, all medications, leaving only hydration, and he died in his sleep on the 20th with no pain. He never knew that he was going to die.
Did his Drs basically hold a death panel with us? Yes they did. It is already a fact of medicine. The decision still rests with the family, the Drs do what is requested but only if the insurance will approve the treatment. This is how it should be done, at least I think so. This way the decision is split between the family, the Drs, and the insurance company, and everyone gets to be heard.
Anyone else out there had to do this lately? How do you feel about it? Do you want the FED making that decision for your family?
Im sorry for your loss, but I think you're confused about this. You're talking about immediate decisions, whether to turn off life support. That's not AT ALL what this is.
... McCaughey said the language can be found on page 425 of the health care bill, so we started there. Indeed, Sec. 1233 of the bill, labeled "Advance Care Planning Consultation" details how the bill would, for the first time, require Medicare to cover the cost of end-of-life counseling sessions.
According to the bill, "such consultation shall include the following: An explanation by the practitioner of advance care planning, including key questions and considerations, important steps, and suggested people to talk to; an explanation by the practitioner of advance directives, including living wills and durable powers of attorney, and their uses; an explanation by the practitioner of the role and responsibilities of a health care proxy."
Medicare will cover one session every five years, the legislation states. If a patient becomes very ill in the interim, Medicare will cover additional sessions.... "This new consultation is just like all in Medicare: it's voluntary."
...[G]eneral counsel and vice president of public policy for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, which supports the provision, said the bill doesn't encourage seniors to end their lives, it just allows some important counseling for decisions that take time and consideration.
In fact Politifact assesses S Palin's and Betsy McCaughey's claims as "Pants on Fire" lies.
"One problem: None of the bills emerging from various committees includes the kind of “death panel” that Ms. Palin says would be rationing care. It is the kind of mischaracterization that President Obama has complained about, though the White House has had little success in persuading people otherwise."
How did allowing doctors to give out that admission and paying them out of Medicare save money? I never did understand that. However, I made an appointment with a lawyer to take care of my problems so i could refuse to make money for some doctor to give me that info. Isn't that very American of me, trying to save money?
Yeah, good idea. Lawyers know all about medical decisions. That's why they went to law school. And who better to help you make informed decision about your medical care than a lawyer. No need to talk to your doctor, just hand him a piece of paper when the time comes.
Actually, no they aren't, and this would hardly be related in any case to the defense of outright lies about death panels. Or all that other stuff.
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