Did anyone see that UFO fly through here?

Ah YES! The latest scare mongering BS coming out of the right . . .

You know they are really feeling the heat when they get this far down in the toilet.

And as  Zachary Roth posted yesterday in the TPMMUCK . . . there's some need for...

Debunking The GOP's Phony Euthanasia Myth -- Since Politico Won't

July 28, 2009, 2:09PM

In recent days, a new right-wing scare tactic on health-care has blossomed on conservative blogs and emails lists: the notion that the reform bill making its way through the House would lead to euthanasia by requiring senior citizens to submit to "end-of-life consultations."

It won't surprise you to learn this is a lie. But President Obama just got a question on it at a public event. And the idea has now made it into Politico, where a straight news story asks in its headline, all even-handed: "Will proposal promote euthanasia?" Since Politico thinks it'll be easier to "win the morning" by misleading readers into believing there's a legitimate debate over this issue, it's worth taking a minute to debunk it.

Continues at this link.

In addition -- I know it's a pain in the butt to have to read the legalese of what the actual wording of the bill is, but anyone worth their salt should read the pertinent section that the wackos are parsing for their own benefit.

Page 424


15 SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION.

16 (a) MEDICARE.--

17 (1) IN GENERAL.--Section 1861 of the Social

18 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x) is amended--

19 (A) in subsection (s)(2)--

20 (i) by striking ''and'' at the end of

21 subparagraph (DD);

22 (ii) by adding ''and'' at the end of

23 subparagraph (EE); and

24 (iii) by adding at the end the fol

25 lowing new subparagraph:

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Page 425

1 ''(FF) advance care planning consultation (as

2 defined in subsection (hhh)(1));''; and

3 (B) by adding at the end the following new

4 subsection:

5 ''Advance Care Planning Consultation

6 ''(hhh)(1) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), the

7 term 'advance care planning consultation' means a con

8 sultation between the individual and a practitioner de

9 scribed in paragraph (2) regarding advance care planning,

10 if, subject to paragraph (3), the individual involved has

11 not had such a consultation within the last 5 years. Such

12 consultation shall include the following:

13 ''(A) An explanation by the practitioner of ad

14 vance care planning, including key questions and

15 considerations, important steps, and suggested peo

16 ple to talk to.

17 ''(B) An explanation by the practitioner of ad

18 vance directives, including living wills and durable

19 powers of attorney, and their uses.

20 ''(C) An explanation by the practitioner of the

21 role and responsibilities of a health care proxy.

22 ''(D) The provision by the practitioner of a list

23 of national and State-specific resources to assist con

24 sumers and their families with advance care plan

25 ning, including the national toll-free hotline, the ad-

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Page 426

1 vance care planning clearinghouses, and State legal

2 service organizations (including those funded

3 through the Older Americans Act of 1965).

4 ''(E) An explanation by the practitioner of the

5 continuum of end-of-life services and supports avail

6 able, including palliative care and hospice, and bene

7 fits for such services and supports that are available

8 under this title.

9 ''(F)(i) Subject to clause (ii), an explanation of

10 orders regarding life sustaining treatment or similar

11 orders, which shall include--

12 ''(I) the reasons why the development of

13 such an order is beneficial to the individual and

14 the individual's family and the reasons why

15 such an order should be updated periodically as

16 the health of the individual changes;

17 ''(II) the information needed for an indi

18 vidual or legal surrogate to make informed deci

19 sions regarding the completion of such an

20 order; and

21 ''(III) the identification of resources that

22 an individual may use to determine the require

23 ments of the State in which such individual re

24 sides so that the treatment wishes of that indi

25 vidual will be carried out if the individual is un-

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Page 427

1 able to communicate those wishes, including re

2 quirements regarding the designation of a sur

3 rogate decisionmaker (also known as a health

4 care proxy).

5 ''(ii) The Secretary shall limit the requirement

6 for explanations under clause (i) to consultations

7 furnished in a State--

8 ''(I) in which all legal barriers have been

9 addressed for enabling orders for life sustaining

10 treatment to constitute a set of medical orders

11 respected across all care settings; and

12 ''(II) that has in effect a program for or

13 ders for life sustaining treatment described in

14 clause (iii).

15 ''(iii) A program for orders for life sustaining

16 treatment for a States described in this clause is a

17 program that--

18 ''(I) ensures such orders are standardized

19 and uniquely identifiable throughout the State;

20 ''(II) distributes or makes accessible such

21 orders to physicians and other health profes

22 sionals that (acting within the scope of the pro

23 fessional's authority under State law) may sign

24 orders for life sustaining treatment;

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Page 428

1 ''(III) provides training for health care

2 professionals across the continuum of care

3 about the goals and use of orders for life sus

4 taining treatment; and

5 ''(IV) is guided by a coalition of stake

6 holders includes representatives from emergency

7 medical services, emergency department physi

8 cians or nurses, state long-term care associa

9 tion, state medical association, state surveyors,

10 agency responsible for senior services, state de

11 partment of health, state hospital association,

12 home health association, state bar association,

13 and state hospice association.

14 ''(2) A practitioner described in this paragraph is--

15 ''(A) a physician (as defined in subsection

16 (r)(1)); and

17 ''(B) a nurse practitioner or physician's assist

18 ant who has the authority under State law to sign

19 orders for life sustaining treatments.

20 ''(3)(A) An initial preventive physical examination

21 under subsection (WW), including any related discussion

22 during such examination, shall not be considered an ad

23 vance care planning consultation for purposes of applying

24 the 5-year limitation under paragraph (1).

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Page 429

1 ''(B) An advance care planning consultation with re

2 spect to an individual may be conducted more frequently

3 than provided under paragraph (1) if there is a significant

4 change in the health condition of the individual, including

5 diagnosis of a chronic, progressive, life-limiting disease, a

6 life-threatening or terminal diagnosis or life-threatening

7 injury, or upon admission to a skilled nursing facility, a

8 long-term care facility (as defined by the Secretary), or

9 a hospice program.

10 ''(4) A consultation under this subsection may in

11 clude the formulation of an order regarding life sustaining

12 treatment or a similar order.

13 ''(5)(A) For purposes of this section, the term 'order

14 regarding life sustaining treatment' means, with respect

15 to an individual, an actionable medical order relating to

16 the treatment of that individual that--

17 ''(i) is signed and dated by a physician (as de

18 fined in subsection (r)(1)) or another health care

19 professional (as specified by the Secretary and who

20 is acting within the scope of the professional's au

21 thority under State law in signing such an order, in

22 cluding a nurse practitioner or physician assistant)

23 and is in a form that permits it to stay with the in

24 dividual and be followed by health care professionals

25 and providers across the continuum of care;

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Page 430

1 ''(ii) effectively communicates the individual's

2 preferences regarding life sustaining treatment, in

3 cluding an indication of the treatment and care de

4 sired by the individual;

5 ''(iii) is uniquely identifiable and standardized

6 within a given locality, region, or State (as identified

7 by the Secretary); and

8 ''(iv) may incorporate any advance directive (as

9 defined in section 1866(f)(3)) if executed by the in

10 dividual.

11 ''(B) The level of treatment indicated under subpara

12 graph (A)(ii) may range from an indication for full treat

13 ment to an indication to limit some or all or specified

14 interventions. Such indicated levels of treatment may in

15 clude indications respecting, among other items--

16 ''(i) the intensity of medical intervention if the

17 patient is pulse less, apneic, or has serious cardiac

18 or pulmonary problems;

19 ''(ii) the individual's desire regarding transfer

20 to a hospital or remaining at the current care set

21 ting;

22 ''(iii) the use of antibiotics; and

23 ''(iv) the use of artificially administered nutri

24 tion and hydration.''.

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Funny ... how couldn't help but notice the following terminology within the above...

• "...the individual's desire..."

Just simply search for the word individual and read what those 15 instances say.

~OGD