Administration's Back Track on EOL Planning

Jim Hufford on his blog Organon with a detailed and insightful commentary on the Obama Administration's backtrack on expanding Medicare's paying physicians for EOL counseling. He makes a convincing case that while the announcement of this policy change may have been handled appropriately, given the context of this policy from the health reform debate, withdrawing the policy change was the correct thing to do. (h/t Austin Frakt and @IncidentalEcon)

On the policy merits we should expand funding for this type of counseling. However, policy changes do need to be done in the appropriate manner.

Update: article on related topic in NY Times. More on MEDPAC's proposed 2012 payment update for hospice.