No More "Death Panels"

Dateline: Capitulationtown.

The Obama administration, reversing course, will revise a Medicare regulation to delete references to end-of-life planning as part of the annual physical examinations covered under the new health care law, administration officials said Tuesday.

The move is an abrupt shift, coming just days after the new policy took effect on Jan. 1.

Many doctors and providers of hospice care had praised the regulation, which listed "advance care planning" as one of the services that could be offered in the "annual wellness visit" for Medicare beneficiaries.

While administration officials cited procedural reasons for changing the rule, it was clear that political concerns were also a factor. The renewed debate over advance care planning threatened to become a distraction to administration officials who were gearing up to defend the health law against attack by the new Republican majority in the House.

Literally, the Obama administration just caved to GOP framing because the GOP is going after his healthcare plan, and instead of standing their ground, in fear of Sarah Palin screaming, "Death panels!" again, they dropped the regulation, despite the millions of people it may have helped.

There is certainly an argument to be made that conceding one "controversial" component to save the rest of the legislation is "smart politics." But that argument is contingent on ignoring the reality that the GOP will just find something else to wildly misrepresent and mendaciously use to undermine the legislation.

This wasn't a move of strength. It was a move of weakness. The battle hasn't even begun, and the Dems are already losing.