July 21, 2009: Conservative Columnist Falsely Claims Reform Bill Would Mandate End-of-Life Counseling

The American Thinker’s Don Parker makes the false claim that the Democrats’ health care reform proposal will mandate end of life, or advance planning, counseling for every American senior citizen “at a minimum of every five years, more often if the senior is sick or in a nursing home” (see July 21, 2009). Parker cites the provision as being on pages 425-430 of HR 3200, the current version of the health care legislation now pending in the House of Representatives. Parker asks: “Just how many government trained counselors will that put into the work force? With an over 65 population of 38,000,000 US (Census, 2007), four counseling sessions daily, over 37,000, at a minimum, that’s how many. Plus their supervisors, plus the report readers, plus the oversight agency. Don’t even think that anyone should receive mandatory counseling regarding the end of life issues surrounding abortion; that’s a invasion of the right of privacy! ‘Counsel’ a senior about their end of life ‘choices’ under Obama Care? Somehow that’s not the same, so just keep your mouth shut.” [American Thinker, 7/21/2009] As many sources note (see July 23, 2009, July 23, 2009, and Late July, 2009), Parker’s claims are false. Such advance planning counseling sessions would be entirely voluntary, and would not encourage seniors to “die early.”