Pete Stark: “the bill before us states that assisted suicide, euthanasia, and mercy killing have been criminal offenses throughout…”

“the bill before us states that assisted suicide, euthanasia, and mercy killing have been criminal offenses throughout the United States and under current law would be unlawful, and this, in other words, makes this bill totally unnecessary. Mr. Speaker, Medicare does only cover medically necessary services. It does not pay for suicide. No one can bill for suicide. No matter what some State may decide to do about suicide, Medicare would not pay for it. It is not now covered and it will not be. This bill is a facade for a Congress that is doing nothing. There are a lot of reasons people in our society are driven to suicide. This bill does not deal with those. This bill does nothing to provide mental health counseling. This bill does not require that insurers offer mental health services that could prevent suicide. It does not provide for health insurance for children to ease the fears and frustrations of parents. It does not stop managed care companies and for-profit HMO's from denying health care that can lead to death and disability. It does not stop the gag rules that cause managed care doctors to mistreat patients. The Consortium for Citizens with Disability says prohibiting people from using Federal funds to end their lives is not worth much. Why do we not provide public and private assistance so they can live their lives?”