US "Palliative Care" Act Has Been Reintroduced

By Margaret Dore, Esq.

The "Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act," formerly S. 693 and H.R. 1676, has been reintroduced in the 116th Congress as H.R. 647. I did not see a Senate version. The full text is not yet available.

The prior Act, if passed into law, would have undermined the Office of the Inspector General's (OIG's) mission to combat Medicare and Medicaid fraud concerning the federal hospice benefit. See  https://www.choiceillusionendtheabuse.org/2018/10/memo-to-us-senate-help-committee-vote.html#more  The Act was also a "springing" or closet euthanasia bill:

Closet Euthansia Act May Be Moving

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

Five days ago, an op-ed appeared in the New York Post advocating for Congressional passage of the "Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act."[1] The Act has not been introduced in the current (116th) Congress.[2] There are, however, rumors that it will be or that passage will occur by packaging it with other legislation. With the appearance of the op-ed, the veracity of these rumors is well founded.

The Act was introduced in the last (115th) Congress as H.R. 1676 and S. 693. Its stated purpose was to provide financial support for palliative care and hospice education centers, including direct patient care. The Act easily passed the House on a voice vote.[3]

There was and is, however, a catch.