Death Panels by Regulation Start Next Year

When Democrats can't get what they want through the Democratic process, they just change the rules. "Death Panels" were stripped from "Obamacare," but the Obama administration is moving to institute them through regulatory changes.

(NY Times)- When a proposal to encourage end-of-life planning touched off a political storm over “death panels,” Democrats dropped it from legislation to overhaul the health care system. But the Obama administration will achieve the same goal by regulation, starting Jan. 1.

Under the new policy, outlined in a Medicare regulation, the government will pay doctors who advise patients on options for end-of-life care, which may include advance directives to forgo aggressive life-sustaining treatment.

Congressional supporters of the new policy, though pleased, have kept quiet. They fear provoking another furor like the one in 2009...