New changes don't bode well for hospice
One new health care regulation has received the ax just days after it went into effect.
The rule said that Medicare would pay for end-of-life counseling as part of an annual wellness visit with your physician.
It was a regulation designed to give you as a patient and your doctor that opportunity to explore options and spell out just what treatments you would or would not want in the last stages of life.
The White House announced Wednesday that the voluntary doctor-patient discussions, for which physicians would have been reimbursed, would not be part of Medicare policy.
This news, reported in the Gainesville Sun, removes a significant benefit from the new health care legislation, hurting the progress of hospice care. Making informed decisions is the cornerstone of any health care process, and by denying aid that would allow all patients to speak with a professional about these decisions many will be left in the dark. Combined with other changes that will keep hospice care program's reimbursement at the level it is now while costs continue to rise, the legislation looks to be having a significant negative impact.
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