Note also that Dem Rep Blumenauer of Oregon is quoted in the NYT column saying, among other things: “The longer this goes unnoticed, the better our chances of keeping it.” The NYT of course publishes it on December 25th, hoping no one will notice.
What they already count on is Doctors DO NOT get paid if the SSA feels the treatment isn’t worth the cost, and doctors WILL BE PAID TO PUSH END of LIFE [RE: END LIFE] LANGUAGE

Obama to bring “end of life” planning in through the back door

By Rick Moran
The idea that “end of life planning” paid for once every 5 years by Medicare will morph into euthanasia counseling was one of the more bizarre arguments against Obamacare when it was proposed two years ago. People have to make informed decisions about how they want their doctor to treat them if they sicken and are unable to make choices about resuscitation and other important end of life issues.Everyone should have a Living Will that spells out for their family where to draw the line about extraordinary measures that could keep one alive. If you wish to remain in a vegetative state,… (Read Full Article)
Some Comments…
Having gone through this with my mother last year . . . . Hospital policy can render a “living will” useless. (though I also found it varied with the Dr.) Based on the mantra of “a living will must be filled out anew by patient and dr whenever the patients health changes”, a “change in a patients health” (like one rendering the patient unconcious and requiring a trip to the ER) renders all previous versions obsolete. I also had to bring a NEW copy of the DPO *every single time* she was hospitalized. They had her file, but until I brought in a *new copy* (and it was usually the same version as the previous copy from her trust) of that DPO with proof of who I was, my opinion was irrelevant.
It won’t be long before they try to make this mandatory and it’s too easy to pressure the elderly to sign away their right to treatment. Food, water, and intravenous solutions are considered extraordinary measures in some cases.

I’m a pharmacist. I’ve noticed that every time anyone in my family even has an outpatient procedure done the medical staff asks “don’t you have an advance directive?” like there is something wrong with deciding not to have one. Sometimes they ask multiple times and get really pushy about it. I’m a Christian and my family knows my wishes. When the time comes I trust my husband and my children to make the decision I would have wanted. Not some government bureaucrat!
No one should be forced to sign a living will. I’ve worked in several hospitals and I’ve personally seen the pressure that the staff put on relatives of patients in the intensive care unit to sign a DNR request and to discontinue all medicines, food, water, and even intravenous solutions. Most of these relatives don’t understand that withdrawing water and intravenous solutions will dehydrate the patient to death.

Let’s not forget that the ‘death panel’ remains law, as passed in the 2009 stimulus bill, which goes into effect iirc in 2014. This legislation creates the Comparative Effectiveness Council (CEC) of members who report to the Secretary of HHS, empowered to make decisions on individual patient care based on cost/benefit analysis. The CEC would ‘grade’ each patient record sent up for review, or set up general standards based on age and prior medical history. (I assume this would be done by medical records people, who now handle ‘coding’ for Medicare reimbursement.) The legislation specifies that patients would have ‘NO RIGHT OF APPEAL’.
Note that the CEC members and Secretary of HHS are appointed, not elected, so they are not accountable for their decisions.
Thumbs up, thumbs down. Just like the Nazis.
CEC decisions would apply to government-funded cases of major surgery and other expensive procedures. It’s not clear if by the time the law goes into effect a private health care system will exist in the US to offer alternative, privately funded care.
I am not making this up. The 900 page Stimulus Bill was posted online before it was passed. I selected a few pages at random to read, and the ones I happened to look at described the CEC.