Bipartisan effort revives measure that some conservatives branded 'death panels'

Nearly every expert and group that has looked at how to control U.S. medical cost growth says more Americans should fill out advance directives to help reduce costly futile care at the end of life. In 2009, there was some bipartisan support in Congress for having Medicare pay physicians for their time in counseling patients on living wills and end-of-life care. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) pushed for inclusion of the provision in the healthcare reform legislation.

But Sarah Palin and other conservatives twisted this into “death panels,” accusing President Barack Obama and the Democrats of trying to throw granny off the cliff. Terrified Democratic sponsors of the reform legislation yanked the provision. But the death panel myth helped fuel the rise of the Tea Party and the Republican takeover of the House in 2010.

Now, there's a bipartisan odd couple in Congress trying to revive the provision, Politico reports. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) is working with Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.), a physician and conservative opponent of Obamacare, on a bill that would have Medicare reimburse physicians for their time in talking to patients about advance planning for end of life. The bill has 15 co-sponsors in the House, including a few Republicans. There's no companion bill yet in the Senate, though Isakson and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) are crafting something similar.

Roe told Politico that as a physician (he's an OB-GYN), he's had to have those difficult end-of-life conversations with patients. Even though he hates Obamacare, he dislikes the death-panel line of attack. While the death-panel vitriol has ebbed somewhat, he's not confident members of his party will support a bill to pay physicians to counsel patients about end-of-life planning.

Undoubtedly many physicians already are having these talks with patients and their families without getting paid for them. But we know that doctors and others in the healthcare system are more likely to do things we pay them to do. This is something every serious policy expert thinks should be encouraged. We'll see if members of Congress can move past the fear and demagoguery and enact this eminently sensible payment policy.

Follow Harris Meyer on Twitter: @MHHmeyer