It shouldn’t be hard to assure people that the end of life “counseling” in House Bill 3200 health care system destruction, er reform, bill will always remain voluntary. The word isn’t hard to spell, and indeed, can be easily placed in the legislation at the appropriate spot. In fact, it already has—just not in the end of life section.
There is a federal grant provision to help states pay for counselors to go to the homes of families with young children in the bill, and look what it states about that counseling. From the bill:
SEC. 440. HOME VISITATION PROGRAMS FOR FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN AND FAMILIES EXPECTING CHILDREN.
`(a) Purpose- The purpose of this section is to improve the well-being, health, and development of children by enabling the establishment and expansion of high quality programs providing voluntary home visitation for families with young children and families expecting children.
`(b) Grant Application- A State that desires to receive a grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary for approval, at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require, an application for the grant that includes the following:
First, no wonder this bill breaks the bank, it is the nanny state on steroids. That arguable point aside, it is easy to make counseling voluntary—you just use the word in the bill before the word “counseling.” That wasn’t done in the end of life section, which as written, is virtually unintelligable, and could easily be construed to seem mandatory, since reference must be made to existing law to learn what it is all about. I have suggested fixes, but so far, no takers.
HT: Mary Kay Culp
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