CRISIS STANDARDS OF CARE LEGISLATION INTRODUCED!
We are happy to report that, after much work and prayer, we were able to get legislation introduced this past week to limit the scope of “Crisis Standards of Care” …and to provide strong patient protections if we move again into health care rationing: Patients’ Living Wills have to be respected … food & water cannot be denied a patient unless they — and not a hospital committee — have made that choice.
We create a Patient Ombudsman so families have a place to get help in fighting for their loved ones if a hospital has decided to deny care. We affirm the right to in-person patient visitation for people hospitalized or living in a nursing home. We make it illegal to deny treatment on the basis of vaccination status. We affirm a patient’s rights to conscience and religious liberty in making health care decisions. Those are just some of the key features.
Here is a link to the legislation: https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2022/legislation/H0712/
Getting this far has been one of the hardest efforts in our ministry’s history. Our next challenge is the hard push-back coming from hospitals. Those folks wield tremendous power at the Legislature these days. We have been in negotiations with them over some of the language … but we are unwilling to compromise on these key patient protections. This is a terrific bill.
Now all we have to do is get it passed.
And, to that end, we ask for your prayers… We also need you to contact legislators, encouraging them to get this bill passed before they return home. This is serious business. Data is beginning to emerge that we have suffered significant hikes in death rates over the past couple of years… and many of those deaths cannot be directly attributed to the virus. We strongly suspect that a big part of the tragedy we have endured is related to the restrictions on health care. That all will take some time to sort out.
We look forward to hearing from you if you have any questions. May the Lord carry us to victory in affirming His gift of Life at all stages. Now we need your help. Please call your legislators and ask them to support HB712. You can leave a message by calling 208-332-1000. Thank you!
