Report: Medicare to Cover End of Life Counseling

We want to note an encouraging report that we caught wind of last week.  Per CBS News, Medicare will now cover life counseling for terminally ill patients. 

Highlighting the story of one patient and coverage of her counseling, this story points out how we could be witnessing a major breakthrough in end-of-life care.

From the report:

“Studies suggest patients who receive the kind of specialized care that focuses on quality of life and pain management have fewer hospital and office visits, and may even live longer.”

This is great news for a number of reasons, but the biggest point is how it expands people’s perceptions of what success looks like for hospice and palliative care.  The more patients become aware of existing end-of-life options, the better care they will all receive as demand for smarter care grows.  With more access to and awareness of these care options, there is no need for something as aggressive and permanent as physician assisted suicide.

We believe this is a huge step in the right direction for redefining end-of-life care.  As coverage of these types of proven treatments expands, we will stop thinking of this care as a tragedy to be ignored at all costs.

We will think of this care as a meaningful, important part of our lives.

Please read and share this report.