NewsLine - February 2011 - (Page 3)

A Message From Don Some Positive Media Coverage to Support Our Continued Fight On January 4th, we received some very disappointing news. I’m speaking, of course, about the Administration’s reversal of its decision to cover voluntary advance care planning consultations as part of a Medicare beneficiary’s annual wellness exam. As we pursue our policy agenda during this new year, we will continue to fight for the inclusion of this important patient right as a covered Medicare service. However, I want to take this opportunity to highlight some of the positives that have come from this upset. The day after the New York Times story broke, NHPCO issued a press release over the newswire urging all Americans, despite the reversed decision, to think about their wishes and engage in advance care planning. This opened up dialog with a number of major news outlets and has resulted in some excellent articles that will go a long way in supporting our continued fight here on the Hill. As we go to press with this issue, let me share what’s been published so far: 1/05: The Many Lives of The ‘Death Panel’ NPR’s All Things Considered 1/13: End-of-life Health-care Issues Debated, Winston-Salem Journal 1/11: Plan Now So Your Later Years Can Be Comfortably Extended, USA Today 1/12: End-of-life Instructions Can Allow Patients to Control Their Fate,” Miami Herald 1/12: Death Panels Out; Talks are Not,” Fort Myers News-Press 1/13: Keep Talking: End-of-life Discussions Must Go On, Even Without Pay,” Syracuse Post-Standard 01/13: Evidence is Growing for Benefits of End-of-life Talks, Houston Chronicle 01/14: Two Documents Every Baby Boomer Needs to Have for Death Planning, Fox News 01/18: Don’t Put Off Talking About the Inevitable: Care at Life’s End, National Public Radio 01/18: Advance Directives Can Ease the Stress of Life-or-death Medical Decisions, Washington Post 01/18: End-of-life Counseling Means ‘Survival Panels,” The Daily Iowan 01/19: Talk About End-of-Life Preferences Anyway, Santa Barbara Independent Another important step that should be taken, which is really a valuable opportunity, is outreach to the physician community. Given the debate over this regulation, many community physicians may be more reluctant than ever before to initiate these conversations. If you are not already, become a valuable resource to them. Share your expertise, as well as appropriate materials, to help them help their patients. To help you, NHPCO has some excellent resources, such as our two-page guide for clinicians and a host of materials on our Caring Connections website. NewsLine 3 http://www.nhpco.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=6411 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/01/05/132680683/the-many-lives-of-the-death-panel http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2011/jan/13/wsmain01-end-of-life-health-care-issues-debated-ar-690478 http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20110111/passages11_st.art.htm http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/01/12/2013331/end-of-life-instructions-can-allow.html http://www.news-press.com/article/20110112/HEALTH/110111085/-Death-panels-out-talks-are-not http://blog.syracuse.com/opinion/2011/01/keep_talking_end-of-life_discu.html http://www.chron.com/disp/discuss.mpl/editorial/outlook/7380726.html http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2011/01/14/baby-boomer-death-right-die-death-panel-robery-quinlan-baby-boomer-retire/ http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/01/18/133021408/dont-put-off-talking-about-the-inevitable-care-at-lifes-end http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/14/AR2011011405037.html http://www.dailyiowan.com/2011/01/18/Opinions/20692.html http://www.independent.com/news/2011/jan/19/talk-about-end-life-preferences-anyway/ http://www.nhpco.org/files/public/education/NHPCO_physician_outreach_clinician-guide.pdf http://www.caringinfo.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3383

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NewsLine - February 2011

NewsLine - February 2011
Documenting Hospice Physician Services
A Message from Don
Physician Service Codes Reference Sheet
2011 MLC (display ad)
A Recap of the Face-to-Face Encounter
2011 Hospice Predictions
National Social Work Month Gift Ideas (display ad)
The Voice of NCHPP: The Experience Model
CEO Executive Mentoring Project
Hospice Executive Scholarship Program (display ad)
Recruiting Problems? HMR (display ad)
Now Online: Winter Insights
Members in the News
Upcoming Educational Offerings
New NHDD Website!
FHSSA Newsletter

NewsLine - February 2011