Beyond resistance: Improving end-of-life care

Update

Thursday, August 3, 2017

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Dear Friends,

It is the sixth day of my email series, "Beyond Resistance: The things we should do to make us safer, healthier, and more economically secure." Today's topic: improving end-of-life care.

Every patient should be empowered to receive health care consistent with their values, goals, and informed preferences and to have those care decisions honored by their family and providers.

During passage of Affordable Care Act, I saw an opportunity to apply lessons learned in Oregon with its landmark comprehensive palliative care programs, which give patients more of a say about the medical treatment they want at the end of life. I worked to make sure that Congress included a payment for doctors to talk to patients and families about advance care planning in the Affordable Care Act. Unfortunately, this provision wasn't included in the final legislation due to a breakdown of the legislative process.

After years of advocacy, Medicare finally designed a benefit allowing doctors to receive reimbursement for voluntary advance care planning conversations with their patients. Last year, for the first time, Medicare paid for these critical doctor-patient discussions in the same way it pays for any other medical service.

My work to improve end-of-life care, however, is far from over. This year I introduced the bipartisan Patient Choice and Quality Care Act of 2017. This legislation builds on our successes and will provide high-quality care for individuals with advanced illnesses and enhance training, resources, and tools for providers, patients, and their families.

I'm proud to represent Oregon, which pioneered the death with dignity movement. Oregon law allows terminally-ill Oregonians to choose to end their lives through the voluntary self-administration of lethal medications prescribed by a physician. Patients and their doctors should have the ability to make these personal and private end-of-life decisions without federal interference. Everyone deserves to have their wishes for care understood, respected, and enforced.

I welcome your thoughts, ideas, and opinions. You can connect with me at: https://blumenauerforms.house.gov/components/redirect/r.aspx'ID=608-569941.

Courage,

Congressman Earl Blumenauer

Earl Blumenauer

Member of Congress