I cancelled my AARP subscription and I would suggest anyone who is against Obummers health plan to do the same.

Send AARP the message, to stop endorsing killing off the old folks.

It's alive! End-of-life counseling in health bill
ZALDIVAR,
Associated Press Writer Ricardo Alonso-zaldivar, Associated Press Writer – Fri Oct 30, 12:32 am ET
WASHINGTON –

It's alive. The Medicare end-of-life planning provision that 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin said was tantamount to "death panels" for seniors is staying in the latest Democratic health care bill unveiled Thursday.

The provision allows Medicare to pay for voluntary counseling to help beneficiaries deal with the complex and painful decisions families face when a loved one is approaching death.

For years, federal laws and policies have encouraged Americans to think ahead about end-of-life decisions, and make their wishes known in advance through living wills and similar legal documents. But when House Democrats proposed this summer to pay doctors for end-of-life counseling, it touched off a wave of suspicion and anger.

Prominent Republicans singled it out as a glaring example of government overreach.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, at the time a lead negotiator on health care legislation, told constituents at a town hall meeting they had good reason to question the proposal.

"I don't have any problem with things like living wills, but they ought to be done within the family," he said. "We should not have a government program that determines you're going to pull the plug on grandma."

Thursday, the sponsor of the provision said the barrage of criticism may have actually helped.

"There is nothing more basic than giving someone the option of speaking with their doctor about how they want to be treated in the case of an emergency," said Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore. "I think the outrageous and vindictive attacks may have backfired to help raise awareness about this problem, which is why it's been kept in the bill."

The legislation would allow Medicare to pay for a counseling session with a doctor or clinical professional once every five years. The bill calls for such sessions to be "completely" voluntary, and prohibits the encouragement or promotion of suicide or assisted suicide.

The counseling provision is supported by doctors' groups and AARP, the seniors' lobby. It was not included in health care bills passed by two Senate committees.

I am a nurse and doctors write hospice consults all the time in case of terminal illness. The hospice people then come in like vultures to lure the family members into their hospice. The hospice companies are on the stockmarket and makes tons of money. They pass out gifts to the nurses (pens, candy, cookies, trinkets) in hopes of getting a nurse to refer to their company. The reps are slick and good at business.
Ok how is this different?? I just see more business fot the awful hospice people.

Senator Grassley (R Iowa) must really be out of touch with reality. Eveyone I have ever known that goes in to a hospital for surgery, they hand you a packet of consent forms to fill out and they always ask you if you have a living will. If you want one, they provide it. This practice has been going on for as long as I have known.

He wants hospitals to discontinue this?

I'm not real fond of euthanasia. Especially when Gov. can decide who gets to go.

ok..so what's wrong with getting rid of people who are no longer useful to society?
We should expand the killing off of deadweight.
Just think how much better off the world would be if we also killed off anyone w/ an I.Q. of less than 100, all thieves, all rapists, all murderers, anyone w/ a genetic illness.

Why would anyone think humans have some intrinsic value beyond what good they do for the species?

Why stop there?

The streets are littered with the homeless. They are an eyesore and a burden to society. Welfare recients. If they can't or won't work, put 'em down also?

Special needs folks who can't fend for themselves.

Let's do all the Lawyers and Politicians first.

You forgot the #1 offenders CONGRESS

So when the Dr.s get sit and talk with the patient instead of running tests and performing unnecessary procedures we shouldn't pay them?

So many people wind up with no advance directives, and then in the middle of a crisis family has to decide instead of following the patients wishes.

The push for end of life- advance directives has been around for quite a while. What usually happens is they are given paperwork to fill out, take home and discuss with family, because Dr.s get only so much time with a patient, and this just kinda gets turned into an "oh yeah, lets take care of this too while you are here" kind of thing.

This are very complex issues, its just as important as discussing problems with blood pressure and diabetes.

It facilitates an appointment just for taking care of advance directives in care, for when the pt is incapacitated at a later date.

good way to put it mm.

When my dad was diagnosed with cancer and ginin 6 months to live we sat down with the doctors and went through advanced directives.
Even though my mom, sister and I knew his wishes it was now on paper on file with the hospital. So if something came up they knew what to do without haveing to get ahold of one of us if we weren't there.

I guess thats what i would call end of life counselling. IMO death panels mean the same thing the wording just does sound pleasant.

We don't need MORE government intrusion into our daily lives.

When my mother's doctor said she had to go on hospice, we all sat and talked about it. We used the same hospice that we used for my father. Not all hospice organizations are bad. No one came groveling when my father was ill. During both times of my parents being terminally ill, we did it without government intrusion. It worked out just fine. I do have to say that the hospice we used were very caring and just wonderful. Helped us out emotionally through a very hard time. Again, without government intrusion.

Willing2, the other day I received something in the mail for an alternative to AARP. They are trying to grow and give others an alternative to the liberal slanted AARP.

CSA-Christian Seniors Association

Huh? Since when does making preparations for when you do die or what to do if you've suffered an accident that would leave you in a vegitative state mean having someone else make all those decisions for you?

If you don't have an advanced directive as for what you want in certain circumstances, Families will end up fighting over what care should be givin.

Terry Schivo(spelling?) ring a bell

Killing Grandma is what the HMOs do now.

If the person is on Medicare,,,,,who do you think the insurance co. is??????

If you have Medicaid who is your insurance co. ??????

If you have Chips or S/Chips for your child, guess again?

Guess who mandated that no one regardless of their ability to pay, could be turned away from emergency room????

The government funds the programs but insurance companies provide the care.

We are still at the mercy of the health organizations regardless to who pays it.

works for me.

NO, the Dr.s and hospitals provide the care, and Government (tax dollars) pays for it. And shouldn't the person paying for it call the shots????
Just like when you go to buy any other product or service.
"he who has the gold, makes the rules"

New health care bill is 1900 fricken pages!There is no way I expect the goverment to pull this one off.I doubt if they could get even 20 pages done right and on budget let alone 1900.

The government at this point lets the insurances do most of what they want to do. There are certain things the government/Medicaid/Medicare will not pay for, abortion is one, some forms of birth control are others, the list is long on what it will not pay for but outside of that the insurance company does what it wants to do.

Daytime, you put it into words when I could not do so. This happened to my husband and within 5 days I was widowed. I would have been anyway in time but hospice moved things along quickly. Anytime I have ever brought it up to anyone they got wide-eyed and said, "WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY HERE?!?" in defense of hospice. Sure I signed papers but I was out of my mind at that time.