End-of-Life Counseling Had Bipartisan Support

WASHINGTON -- One of the most heated flash points in this year's health care debate — permitting Medicare to pay for end-of-life counseling — started out as a rare example of congressional bipartisanship.

The measure, contained in a House bill to overhaul health care, has been criticized by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, a Republican, and others as laying the groundwork for a "death panel" that would push frail Americans into early graves. However, the provision had been a separate bill with Democratic and Republican support as recently as a few months ago.

Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., a heart surgeon and a co-sponsor of the counseling bill, says the legislation is aimed at promoting important discussions between doctors and their patients about critical end-of-life issues, such as having a living will. He says those discussions are a "good medical practice," and doctors who spend time counseling their patients about their wishes should be reimbursed through the Medicare system, as the legislation allows.

Now, Boustany says proponents may have to "back off" and reconsider the issue "at some point when the temperature had cooled down."

"Frankly, this thing got really out of hand," he says.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., sponsor of the measure, says he's flabbergasted at the turn the debate has taken. "It's just beyond bizarre," he said. "At every point along the process, I got broad agreement from Democrats and Republicans alike."

When Blumenauer introduced the legislation in April, his co-sponsors included Republican Reps. Patrick Tiberi of Ohio, Geoff Davis of Kentucky and Boustany.

However, many Republicans appear to be backing off since Palin warned on her Facebook page in late July that it would result in the creation of a "death panel."

Sen. Chuck Grassley, a key player in the health care talks as the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said at an Iowa town- hall-style meeting last week that "we should not have a government program that determines if you're going to pull the plug on Grandma."