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Bill: Solentian Health Service Establishment Act
Details
Submitted by[?]: Democratic Socialist Party
Status[?]: passed
Votes: This is an ordinary bill. It requires more yes votes than no votes. This bill will not pass any sooner than the deadline.
Voting deadline: March 3838
Description[?]:
| A bill to replace all former public health agencies with a new, compact and better regulated Solentian Health Service and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate of the Democratic Republic of Solentia that, § 1: TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1.) § 1: TABLE OF CONTENTS: 2.) § 2: DEFINITIONS 3.) § 3: ORGANIZATION 4.) § 4: SERVICES 5.) § 5: FUNDING 6.) § 6: MEDICAL SCHOOLS 7.) § 7: PRESCRIPTION DRUGS 8.) § 8: VETERANS HEALTHCARE 9.) § 9: NATIONAL BOARD OF PHYSICIANS § 2: DEFINITIONS: defined for the purpose of this legislation are the following terms: 1.) Trauma patient: any patient suffering from physical injury, especially serious physical injury. 2.) Veteran: any person serving in the Armed Forces of Solentia for a period exceeding 5 years. § 3: ORGANIZATION: Section 1.) In General - the Ministry of Health and Social Services shall establish the “Solentian Health Service (SHS)” as a national centralized healthcare provider, aimed at providing high quality healthcare services to all residents, free of charge, from the cradle to the grave. SHS shall manifest itself in all hospitals, clinics and surgical wards for the purpose of providing efficient and speedy health services to patients, without the profit motive. SHS shall be trademarked by the Federal Government, and the SHS logo shall be made visible on all SHS administrated buildings, emergency vehicles and official paperwork. Section 2.) The Minister of Health shall appoint a Physician General, who shall serve as the director of SHS operations. The Physician General shall her responsible for official administration of SHS affairs, filling official reports on the quality of SHS services, and for appointing State Physician Generals as outlined in the succeeding section. Section 3.) State Physician Generals shall be responsible for planning the locations of all major hospitals and clinics within his/her state. State Physician Generals will also be responsible for allocating funding to each municipal SHS department, as outlined in the succeeding section. Section 4.) The State Physician General will organize his/her state into individual departments, consisting cities, towns and villages combined into a certain area. Each department shall have between 100,000 and 1,000,000 residents. These department will be headed by a director, appointed by the State Physician General. The director will be tasked with administrating the department’s Emergency Medical Personnel, and for appointing a Facility Administrator to each medical facility within his/her jurisdiction. Section 5.) Each medical facility will be administrated by a licensed physician or surgeon who has been appointed by the director of the department. The administrator of the facility will be responsible for establishing a facility budget, overseeing community health programs, staffing their facility, and insuring quality of care. Section 6.) SHS shall nationalize all major hospitals via eminent domain, and owners of the hospitals will be reimbursed for the full value of the land the hospital was constructed on. Section 7.) All SHS hospitals must meet the following regulations: (i.) Must have an Accident and Emergency Ward (A&E), designed to service both walk-in patients and patients transported via ambulance. A&E wards must be capable of handling a minimum of 300 trauma patients at any given time. (ii.) Must have a General Surgical Ward capable of servicing a minimum of 15 surgery patients at any given time. (iii.) Must have the capacity to treat up to 2,000 patients in a non-surgical or A&E setting. (iv.) Must have a neonatal ward capable of caring for a minimum of 20 premature infants, and a maternity ward capable servicing a minimum of 10 patients at once. (v.) Must employ one physician to every 20 patients the hospital is designed to handle. (i.e. a hospital with 2,000 beds must employ 100 physicians). (vi.) Must employ one registered nurse or nurse practitioner per every 10 patients the hospital is designed to handle (i.e. hospital with 2,000 beds must employ 200 nurses). (vii.) Must employ one general surgeon to every 100 patients the hospital is designed to handle (i.e. hospital with 2,000 beds must employ 20 surgeons) (viii.) Hospitals must maintain an underground shelter, designed to withstand nuclear radiation, natural disasters, chemical weapons attacks, and other civil defense emergencies. Shelter must be able to sustain the hospitals entire staff, plus up to 100 patients for a minimum of two weeks. § 4: SERVICES: All citizens and permanent residents of the Democratic Republic of Solentia will be entitled to the following services through SHS: Section 1: Emergency Medical Care - ambulatory and trauma care services through A&E. Section 2: Hospitalization for General Illness - long-term hospitalization for any valid reason. Section 3: Primary Care - all residents are entitled to a yearly physical through local clinics, plus clinical care for other non-emergency medical reasons. Section 4: Reproductive Health - urological services, STD testing, contraception, emergency abortion services, HIV/AIDS treatment, and gynecological services. Section 5: Mental Health Services - mental health counseling services shall be made available through all hospitals, clinics, and educational institutions. Public Schools will regularly screen students for mental health issues, and will notify parents (if under the age of 16) of any mental health conditions. Patients over the age of 16 will be given confidentiality, and will be able to opt-in or -out of mental health services. Section 6: Dental Care - all patients will be given access to a yearly dental check-up via local dental clinics. Section 7: Eye Care - employers and schools will be required to screen for sight issues on a yearly basis. Corrective lenses or contact lenses will be covered by SHS free of charge. Section 8: Hospice Care - patients suffering from physically traumatic injuries, or who are at the end of their lives have the right to live in state run hospices where they will receive 24/7 nursing care. Section 9: Cancer Care - patients suffering from cancer may receive any form of treatment approved by a physician, as long as it has been approved by the National Board of Physicians (§ 9 of this document). Section 10: Euthanasia - patients suffering from severe illnesses can opt for voluntary euthanasia. Section 11: Life Support - patients who are in either a comatose state, or any other state in which maintaining homeostasis without medical intervention is impossible, shall be entitled to a maximum of two years of life-support free of charge. Section 12: Other - any other medical procedure, treatment, or service that is approved by the National Board of Physicians deemed necessary by a physician will be provided free of charge to patients. Services that are not available through public institutions can be provided through private or foreign institutions. § 5: FUNDING: Section 1.) In General - SHS shall be funded through the Ministry of Health’s general budget. SHS shall be made a primary funding priority each fiscal year, and MoH shall be authorized to take out loans if necessary to meet SHS funding requirements. Section 2.) SHS shall be budgeted for a minimum of 2,500 solenars per resident each year. Section 3.) Title IV, § 18 of the USC regulating corporation taxes shall be amended to show a new rate of 65%. § 6: MEDICAL SCHOOLS: Section 1.) The Ministry of Education shall offer special scholarships to anyone, Solentian or foreign, who is willing to attend medical school in Solentia to become an SHS employee. Students must sign a contract agreeing to to work for the SHS in Solentia for 10 years after graduating. Section 2.) The Ministry of Education shall establish a national program, known as the “National Health Occupation Program (N-HOP), tasked with taking secondary school students within Solentia who are over the age of 16 and offering them an alternative to standard secondary schools. Students interested will be able to attend Medical Schools for a medical and science based educational curriculum. Students in this program will be able to directly enter medical school after graduation with certain credits already completed. § 7: PRESCRIPTION DRUGS: Section 1.) In General - residents of Solentia will be entitled to free or low-priced prescription drugs through State operated pharmacies and hospitals. All medicines given to patients while in the care of a Hospital or hospice will be provided free of charge. Section 2.) The Ministry of Health will subsidize all prescription medicines, including birth control and medical cannabis, so that no drug costs more than 15 solenars per script. Section 3.) The National Board of Physicians will be responsible for approving new pharmaceutical drugs covered by the SHS. § 8: VETERANS CARE: Section 1.) SHS shall be responsible for the administration of Military Hospitals, domestically and abroad, and for provision of health services to prisoners of war. Section 2.) Veterans will be exempt from prescription drug copays. Section 3.) Disabled veterans are entitled to 24/7 care in special state run Veterans Hospices. § 9: NATIONAL BOARD OF PHYSICIANS: Section 1.) The Ministry of Health shall establish a “National Board of Physicians”, which shall be a body consisting of biologists, surgeons and physicians. The purpose of this body shall be to review SHS services to insure quality, to approve new medical treatments and drugs, and to make recommendations to SHS administration on organization of new health care facilities. Section 2.) Any qualified physician, surgeon, or biologist may apply for membership of the National Board of Physicians. Membership applications must be approved by general vote of the board. |
Proposals
Article 1
Proposal[?] to change Policy of the government concerning the funding of abortions
Old value:: The government does not provide funding for abortions.
Current: The government does not provide funding for abortions.
Proposed: The government only funds abortions for medical emergencies.
Article 2
Proposal[?] to change Eminent domain compensation (if eminent domain is legal).
Old value:: The government does not compensate victims of eminent domain.
Current: A neutral body appointed by the courts determines the compensation, either party may appeal.
Proposed: A neutral body appointed by the courts determines the compensation, either party may appeal.
Article 3
Proposal[?] to change Health care policy.
Old value:: There is a free public health care system and a small number of private clinics, which are heavily regulated to ensure they treat their patients well and provide good care.
Current: There is a public health care system, but private clinics are allowed.
Proposed: Health care is entirely public and free; private clinics are banned.
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 00:21:02, April 28, 2015 CET | From |  Free Democratic Party | To | Debating the Solentian Health Service Establishment Act |
| Message | We do not agree with articles 1 and 3, and we don't believe eminent domain should be legal. Donald Bing |
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Voting
| Vote | Seats | |||||
| yes |
Total Seats: 293 | |||||
| no | Total Seats: 161 | |||||
| abstain | Total Seats: 71 |
| Random fact: http://www.fantasynamegenerators.com and http://www.behindthename.com/random are great resources for coming up with character names from unfamiliar cultures. |
| Random quote: "The goal of life is living in agreement with nature." Zeno (335 BC - 264 BC), from Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers |