Obama WH Caves and Removes End of Life from Wellness Visits

So this White House does actually hear us when Republicans speak out and are outraged. Via the NYT:

The Obama administration, reversing course, will revise a Medicare regulation to delete references to end-of-life planning as part of the annual physical examinations covered under the new health care law, administration officials said Tuesday.

The move is an abrupt shift, coming just days after the new policy took effect on Jan. 1.

I have repeatedly warned about how Obamacare has shifted all regulations to the executive branch and the power placed in Kathleen Sebelius’s and Donald Berick’s hands. I explained on the Stage Right Show the serious damage this can have across the health insurance industry because the Medicare fee schedule and Medicare covered services are the template for most insurers.

For the record, it is worth noting that the “Bigs” destroyed the ‘it was a Bush-era law’ that supported end-of-life provisions. This sharp retraction by the Obama WH exemplifies that this false talking point has indeed been obliterated or the provision would still stand as Berwick is a huge proponent of this type of “planning.”