Gingrich's Sudden Shift On End-Of-Life Care
On August 19, 2009, Newt Gingrich wrote a column on HumanEvents.com in which he argued against the government taking a role in end-of-life issues. However, just last month he argued that all Americans should receive end of life counseling.
August: Gingrich Opposed Federal Funding For End-Of-Life Counseling
Newt Gingrich: "My father-in-law recently passed a few years ago. It was a tragic, grief-filled event. But in the end, my father-in-law, his doctors and his family controlled the care he received. Not a bureaucrat. Not an impersonal panel of government 'experts.'...
I think every American should have the opportunity my father-in-law had to have a conversation with their doctor about end of life care that is totally private, in which there are no standards set by the government and no fear of the bureaucracy. We had that kind of an experience at Gunderson Lutheran Hospital in Lacrosse, Wisconsin, where my father-in-law died...Doctors are allowed to do what they think is best for patients, without fearing that the federal government is looking over their shoulders." [HumanEvents.com, 8/19/09]
July: Gingrich Held That Medicare Enrollees Should Have Access To End-Of-Life Counseling
Newt Gingrich: "Gundersen Lutheran Health System in La Crosse, Wisconsin has developed a successful end-of-life, best practice that combines: 1) community-wide advance care planning, where 90 percent of patients have advance directives; 2) hospice and palliative care; and 3) coordination of services through an electronic medical record. The Gundersen approach empowers patients and families to control and direct their care.
If Gundersen's approach was used to care for the approximately 4.5 million Medicare beneficiaries who die every year, Medicare could save more than $33 billion a year." [Washington Post editorial, 7/2/09]
Sound familiar, Mr. Speaker? It should. The same sort of end-of-life counseling prescribed in the House bill is very similar to the system you were praising back in July:
Counseling Will Include Information About The Many Issues Seniors Face In Their Final Years. According to PolitiFact.com: "Sec. 1233 of the bill, labeled 'Advance Care Planning Consultation' details how the bill would, for the first time, require Medicare to cover the cost of end-of-life counseling sessions. According to the bill, 'such consultation shall include the following: An explanation by the practitioner of advance care planning, including key questions and considerations, important steps, and suggested people to talk to; an explanation by the practitioner of advance directives, including living wills and durable powers of attorney, and their uses; an explanation by the practitioner of the role and responsibilities of a health care proxy.'" [PolitiFact.com, 7/23/09]
