"End of Life" Provision Reportedly Scrapped

As we blogged yesterday, Sen. Grassley of Iowa gave credence to the idea that "death panels" would cut short the lives of our collective grandmothers if the House health care reform bill were to be passed. Today, the Wall Street Journal is writing that the provision for end-of-life counseling is to be dropped from the current bill.

Although the measure is supported by the American Medical Association, the political cost of the measure seemingly is scaring away potential support from lawmakers attempting to craft a bipartisan bill in the Senate (Sen. Grassley among them . . .).

Talking Points Memo notes that until a few days ago -- just about the time that end-of-life counseling was branded as "death panels" (Thanks again, Sarah) this measure was completely uncontroversial. The measure would cost several billion dollars over the next few years, but advocates suggest that the initial cost of the measure would cut the costs of unwanted end-of-life care many times over.