Senate drops end-of-life consultations

WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- The Senate Finance Committee has dropped a provision from a healthcare bill covering consultations on end-of-life care, an aide said Thursday.

The consultations would have allowed the elderly to talk to doctors about living wills and how to ensure their wishes are followed on aggressive treatment if they become seriously ill. But opponents of the bill seized on the issue, talking about "death panels" that they said would cut off treatment to the elderly.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said the end-of-life consultations might be "misinterpreted or implemented incorrectly," the Los Angeles Times reported.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and a number of conservative talk-show hosts joined the critics of the consultations.

A similar provision remains in the House version of the healthcare bill, requiring Medicare to pay for one consultation every five years. They would be voluntary for patients.

President Obama has said he and his wife, both still in their 40s, have living wills.