Medicare finalizes rule to pay for end-of-life talks

The Obama administration on Friday finalized a rule allowing Medicare to pay for end-of-life discussions between patients and doctors. 

{mosads}The proposal has been controversial in the past, leading to charges of “death panels,” but has since cooled down politically. 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed in July to allow Medicare to start reimbursing doctors when they have discussions with patients about their end-of-life options, such as whether they want to be kept on life support. CMS on Friday finalized that rule. 

Lawmakers including Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) have long pushed for the change. 

CMS noted Friday that the rule is “consistent with recommendations from a wide range of stakeholders and bipartisan members of Congress.”

The agency has also emphasized that its proposals were consistent with recommendations from the American Medical Association.

Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.), the top Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, led a letter to CMS urging adoption of the rule last week, and he praised the decision Friday. 

“Families should be able to talk-through and understand these medical decisions with a knowledgeable practitioner of their choosing,” Levin said in a statement Friday. 

“It’s going to be amazingly consequential in making sure people get the care they want,” Blumenauer said in an interview, adding that it could also save billions of dollars. 

“Public acceptance grew as awareness increased,” he added. “The people that were opposed to it sounded just more and more out of touch.”