http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/us/politics/26death.html?_r=1Under the new policy, outlined in a Medicare regulation, the government will pay doctors who advise patients on options for end-of-life care, which may include advance directives to forgo aggressive life-sustaining treatment.
While the new law does not mention advance care planning, the Obama administration has been able to achieve its policy goal through the regulation-writing process, a strategy that could become more prevalent in the next two years as the president deals with a strengthened Republican opposition in Congress.
Do you even have a clue as to what advanced directives are?
Every day in my office, patients are offered Advanced Directives by my medical assistant. They can refuse them or accept them and if they wish, they can discuss them with me.
Essentially, they are a written document where the patient can decide what they want to have done with regards to CPR, intubation, feeding tubes, etc. It allows the patient to make their own decisions, in case something was to happen, and it is intented to prevent a family feud regarding their personal medical care a la Terry Schiavo.