A TRUSTED INDEPENDENT HEALTH INSURANCE GUIDE SINCE 1999.
Call our agency partners 866-553-3223
Call our agency partners 866-553-3223
Banner icon

ACA deadline extended: Enroll by Dec. 18 for coverage effective Jan. 1.

Featured Featured
What are the deadlines for the ACA’s open enrollment period?
A list of the open enrollment deadlines for enrollment in 2023 ACA-compliant health insurance in every state. Open enrollment ended on January 15, 2023 in most states.
Latest News & Topics Latest News & Topics
Featured Featured
Applying for ACA Coverage?
Understanding how small differences in projected income can have a large impact on your health plan costs can be key to obtaining affordable coverage.

advance care planning consultations

What are advance care planning consultations?

healthinsurance.org health insurance glossary

What are advance planning consultations?

A controversial provision of H.R. 3200 (one of the unpassed health care reforms bills introduced in 2009 prior to the Affordable Care Act) would have paid physicians to provide counseling to elderly or terminally ill Medicare patients who requested the counseling. 

The provision – ultimately not included in the Affordable Care Act – would have paid for one counseling session at least every five years, during which patients could discuss advance care planning, advance directives, living wills, palliative care and hospice and possible life-sustaining treatments for the terminally ill. Critics said the proposal would create “death panels” and described its intent as “guiding you in how to die.” The concept of “death panels” in the ACA was named PolitiFact’s “lie of the year” in 2009.

Although advance care planning consultations were not included in the Affordable Care Act, the government continued to address the issue, as end-of-life consultations are an important part of the services provided to Medicare beneficiaries, and there was no provision to allow Medicare to pay doctors for providing this service. Starting in 2016, under new HHS regulations that were finalized in 2015, Medicare did begin paying doctors for end-of-life consultations.

sticky-bottom-cta

Get your free quote now through licensed agency partners!