The federal government announced on Wednesday that it plans to reimburse medical professionals for consultations with Medicare beneficiaries on whether they would like to be kept alive and how they would want to be cared for when they become too ill to make decisions on their own.
While the Medicare plan will be opened to the public for commenting for 60 days, experts believe it will eventually receive approval. The government could begin implementing the plan by the start of next year.
If it is adopted, the proposal is expected to address issues raised by concerned groups before the Affordable Care Act was passed in Congress. Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska and Republican candidate for vice president, called a similar healthcare plan as equivalent to creating "death panels," which could prevent the sick from receiving much needed care.
The government's plan is in response to calls from patients and healthcare providers about granting people with greater freedom to decide how they wish to die. This may include the right to choose whether to exhaust all available medical options in order to be kept alive, or to discontinue receiving life support if they do not wish to be sustained by feeding tubes and ventilators.
Dr. Patrick Conway of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) believes that the proposal provides patients and families the chance to be better informed about advanced care with their doctors and healthcare providers. He pointed out that these kinds of discussions are vital to providing care for both patients and their families.
Conway said that they will be able to make a final decision regarding their proposal by Nov. 1.
According to the government's plan, qualified medical professionals, including physician assistants, nurses and doctors, will be compensated for conducting face-to-face consultations with patients and their relatives, or with caregivers the patients want to include in their meetings.
The proposal does not mention any limits to the number of consultations reimbursed by the government.
"The reality is these conversations, their length can vary based on patients' needs," Conway said.
"Sometimes, they're short conversations - the person has thought about it. Sometimes, they're a much longer conversation. Sometimes, they're a series of conversations."
The Medicare proposal has already received support from leading medical organizations, but it has also met opposition.
The National Right to Life Committee challenges the government's plan because it could result in pressuring patients to forgo receiving treatment.
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