Opposition to Medicare Paying for Advance Care Planning

Flash back to 2009.  Opponents of Medicare coverage for advance care planning have reemerged in response to Medicare's new plans to pay for advance care planning.



Sarah Palin writes:  "Certainly, all patients and families should be advised of options, but we engage in that today and we don't need government bribing any party to do so. . . .  Government needs to stay the hell out of our "end-of-life" discussions. . . ."



"[A]nswering a government questionnaire that will be judged by faceless bureaucrats just doesn’t cut it. . . .  Be aware that most of these questions are for the benefit of a far-away, bankrupt government, they're not for the benefit of the patient."



Betsey McCaughey similarly called the rule a "disguise" for what's "actually intended" — the government deciding when people die. 



"It's none of the government's business how we die. . . .  Patients and their families should be very well informed about the agenda here, because it is not just ensuring their doctor is adequately paid, it's about ensuring they're pressured into a shorter end of life."