Vetoed National Healthcare Act

[greymc]

CONGRESS OF THE
COMMONWEALTH OF REDMONT
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A BILL TO

MAKE THE DOH COOL AGAIN




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The people of the Commonwealth of Redmont, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:


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1. Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the “National Healthcare Act”.
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) This Act has been authored by Representative _GreyMC, Health Secretary RaiTheGuy07, Medical Specialist and Senator ElegantAlly, and Medical Specialist SoapMcKakashi.
(4) This Act has been co-sponsored by Representative Rorroh.
(5) This Act amends the following acts:
(a) Criminal Code Act
(b) Redmontian Health Service Act

2. Reasons and Intent
(1) The Redmontian Health Service Act is not updated to current Health plugin status and the current DOH policy. Many times this act directly contradicts the policy, especially when it allows pharmacists to administer cures.
(2) This act mainly changes the Pharmacist cure policy, which now only allows them to administer class B and C cures with permission and with accordance to DOH policy, preventing them from force-curing people and taking patients in the hospital. Anyone can still force-cure themselves with Class B and C cures.
(3) This also gives the department more duties and clarifies the roles of vaccines.
(4) This act removes the Redmontian Health Service Act, but keeps the same format. This could have been amended, but there were many changes that I felt would be more tedious to change.

3. Definitions

(1) For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) Health Condition. Any disease, injury, illness, or negative status effect recognized as such under DOH policy.
(b) Treatment. Any item under DOH policy that, when used on a player, alleviates, cures, or prevents a health condition
(i) Cure. An item under DOH policy that cures a health condition
(ii) Vaccine. An item under DOH policy that prevents a health condition
(c) Administration. The use of an item on a player by clicking, including cures or buffs (as defined in the Criminal Terminology Act)
(d) Dispensation. The sale or distribution of an item.
(e) Patient. The recipient of a treatment, whether given through dispensation or administration, or a person requesting a doctor or treatment
(f) Doctor. A holder of a provisional or full license to practice
(g) Pharmacist. A holder of a pharmacist license
(h) Contagious Disease. A health conditional that can spread from player-to-player as such under DOH policy.
(i) Implied Consent. A patient has given implied consent for them to be cured when they request a doctor.

PART II - PROVISIONS

4. The Department
(1) The Department of Health, abbreviated “DOH”, as charged by the Executive Standards Act, shall be responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the national health system in Redmont.

(2) The DOH shall be the sole regulatory for healthcare and health-related services and items in Redmont, and may, subject to this Act:
(a) regulate the pricing, sale, crafting, distribution, and provision of healthcare-related items and services;
(b) regulate the diseases and infection rates of health conditions;
(c) regulate the education, conduct standards, training, and status of healthcare professionals;
(d) issue, regulate, suspend, revoke, create, and remove licenses for the legal provision of healthcare in Redmont;
(e) regulate the standards for properties that may sell healthcare-related items and services;
(f) manage the hospitals and clinics in Redmont and its’ towns; and
(g) manage the prices, coverage, and use of Medicare

5. Medicare
(1) The DOH shall maintain a state-funded, public health insurance scheme, henceforth called ‘Medicare’.

(2) All citizens shall be entitled to coverage under Medicare, unless expressly limited by statute or DOH policy.

(3) The DOH shall establish and maintain a public Medicare policy which shall set out a Medical Benefits Schedule (MBS) specifying:
(a) the healthcare services covered by Medicare;
(b) the extent and type of coverage for each service;
(c) any conditions or limitations to that coverage;
(d) any co-payment applicable to a covered service; and
(e) the rules and restrictions that apply to Medicare

(4) Medicare shall provide coverage in two types, either:
(a) in-full, under which the patient makes no contribution towards the covered amount specified in the MBS; or
(b) in-part, under which the patient makes the co-payment specified in the MBS as a contribution towards the covered amount.

(5) The DOH shall not impose any additional costs beyond those covered by the MBS, excluding any required co-payment, for any provided service when:
(a) A player is entitled to coverage;
(b) the service is listed as covered on the MBS;
(c) the service is provided in a DOH facility; and
(d) the service is provided by a DOH employee in the course of their official duties.

(6) A patient must notify their doctor if they do not have coverage to Medicare either due to opting out or being removed. Doctors must also notify patients if a cure or service requires any payment from the patient.

(7) The DOH may revoke anyone’s access to Medicare if they violate any statute or DOH policy.

(8) If a player is found guilty of a crime in the Criminal Code Act that has illicitly affected the payment of a doctor or pharmacist, the fines collected from the player should be used to pay the doctor or pharmacist in funds lost.

(9) Not withstanding §4(2) of this act, the Department of Health shall have the sole authority and responsibility to manage who can use medicare, and has the authority to remove anyone's access to medicare should they act in breach of law or Department of Health policy or values.

6. Treatments
(1) The DOH shall, through policy, assign each health treatment to one of three classes:
(a) Class A for treatments that are restricted to administration and dispensation by the properly licensed individuals
(b) Class B for treatments that may be dispensed by the properly licensed individuals
(c) Class C for treatments that may be freely dispensed

(3) Players may self-administer any Class B or Class C treatment item that is in their possession without a need for a license.

(4) Players without a proper license may not administer treatments on other players. Any player with a proper license may not administer treatments without consent from the patient, unless the administration is allowed under DOH policy.

(5) Until otherwise specified in DOH policy, all vaccines shall be assigned to Class C, and any other treatment, including cures, shall be assigned to Class A. However, if a treatment is an item that is in vanilla Minecraft, it shall be assigned to Class C.

7. Licenses
(1) The DOH shall maintain an official, public list of all the health-related licenses in Redmont. This list should include:
(a) the qualifications needed for each license
(b) the restrictions and regulations on each license
(c) the benefits and privileges of each license
(d) any other condition needed for the license-holder to know while in possession of the license

(2) For the purposes of this Act, a Required License is any license designated by the Department of Health as necessary to perform an activity or exercise a privilege identified in the Department's official list

(3) Unless otherwise set by the DOH, the main licenses will be:
(a) License to Practise. This authorizes the holder to possess Class A treatments, and administer any class pursuant to their duties as an employee of the Department of Health.
(i) Provisionary License to Practise. This license has the same privileges as the regular license to practise, but can be and is limited by the holder’s training in the DOH
(b) Pharmacist License. This authorizes the holder to distribute Class B treatments according to DOH Policy. This also authorizes the holder to administer treatments inside of their own pharmacy or place of operation with the patient’s consent.

(4) Not withstanding §4(2) of this act, the Department of Health has the sole responsibility and authority to remove and suspend health-related licenses in accordance with law and policy.

8. Patient Rights
(1) A patient of the Department of Health has the following rights:
(a) privacy on their health condition, medicare status, and Department of Health records; and
(b) the right to bodily autonomy, including the right to refuse any treatment or cure, unless the patient is suffering from a contagious or similar disease where treatment is required by policy or statute

PART III - AMENDMENTS

8. Redmontian Health Service Act
(1) The Redmontian Health Service Act is hereby repealed.

(2) No act repealed by the Redmontian Health Service Act shall be brought back into force.

9. Criminal Code Act
(1) Part IX, Sections §1-5 of the Criminal Code Act shall be amended as followed:

1 - Providing Treatment without a Licence
1 - Illicit Administration of a Health Treatment
Offence Type: Summary
Penalty: Up to 50 Penalty Units; up to 15 minutes imprisonment
(a) Class A - 5 Penalty Units; 10 minutes imprisonment
(b) Class B - 3 Penalty Units; 5 minutes imprisonment
(c) Class C - 1 Penalty Unit; 5 minutes imprisonment
A person commits an offence if the person:
(a) administers a Class A health treatment without holding a valid licence to practise or without the implied consent of the patient; or
(b) administers a Class B or C health treatment without the implied consent of the patient or in another way that violates DOH policy
This offense shall not occur when:
(i) the player was acting within their lawful authority as a Department of Health employee

2 - Illicit Trafficking of a Health Treatment
Offence Type: Indictable Summary
Penalty: Up to 200 Penalty Units; up to 60 minutes imprisonment
(a) Class A - 2.5 Penalty Units; 5 minutes imprisonment; notify Department of Health; confiscation of treatments
(b) Class B - 1 Penalty Unit; 1 minute imprisonment; notify Department of Health; confiscation of treatments
A person commits an offence if the person:
(a) sells or distributes dispenses a Class A health treatment; or
(b) dispenses a Class B health treatment without holding the required licence.
This offense shall not occur when:
(i) dispensation has been approved by the Department of Health; or
(ii) the health treatment is Class B or C and is dispensed in a private and non-commercial exchange

3 - Illicit Possession of a Class A Health Treatment
Offence Type: Summary
Penalty: 20 Penalty Units
(a) First offense - 10 Penalty Units; 5 minutes imprisonment
(b) Subsequent offenses - 20 Penalty Units; 10 minutes imprisonment
A person commits an offence if the person:
(a) has wittingly in their possession, or within a container used by them for storage or commerce, a Class A health treatment, and one of the following conditions are met:
(i) the person is not properly licensed to possess the treatment; or
(ii) the possession is not within the course of the person's official duties as an employee of the Department of Health.

4 - Reckless Transmission of a Disease
Offence Type: Summary
Penalty:
(a) First offence - 10 Penalty Units; 20 minutes imprisonment
(b) Second offence - 20 Penalty Units; 40 minutes imprisonment
(c) Subsequent offences - 40 Penalty Units; 60 minutes imprisonment
A person commits an offence if the person:
(a) recklessly exposes, or attempts to expose, another player to a contagious disease by failing to take or adhere to reasonable containment measures.; or
(b) intentionally attempts to expose another player to a contagious disease

5 - Intentional Transmission of a Disease
Offence Type: Summary
Penalty:
(a) First offence - 20 Penalty Units; 20 minutes imprisonment
(b) Second offence - 40 Penalty Units; 40 minutes imprisonment
(c) Subsequent offences - 80 Penalty Units; 60 minutes imprisonment
A person commits an offence if the person:
(a) intentionally infects, or threatens to infect, another player with a contagious disease. This offence overrides Reckless Transmission of a Disease.
(i) This offence overrides Reckless Transmission of a Disease and Threats.


10. Renumbering
(1) All subsequent sections and subsections of the Criminal Code Act shall be renumbered as appropriate.

 

[Dartanboy]

Nay - Why are we making it illegal to get sick? ("Recklessly exposes themselves to a contagious disease")

 

[ElegantAlly]

Votes before S-44/39

 

[Dartanboy]

Aye - Has a redundant clause but we need this to go through

 

[xXTheoryXx]

Veto

PRESIDENTIAL VETO
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The National Healthcare Act repeals the Redmontian Health Service Act, restates the duties of the Department of Health, places Medicare on a statutory footing, classifies health treatments, and rewrites Part IX, Sections 1 through 5 of the Criminal Code Act. Much of it is good work. The pharmacist provisions correct a real conflict between statute and policy, the revised penalties are a marked improvement on the schedule they replace, and Medicare belongs in statute. I withhold my assent because six provisions cannot stand against the Constitution.

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First, the Bill purports to remove executive authority the Constitution vests in the President.
Sections 5(9) and 7(4) confer on the Department "sole authority and responsibility" over Medicare eligibility and licence removal. Constitution s23 vests executive power in the President and Cabinet, s28(1) makes Cabinet authority delegated Presidential authority, s29(1)(b) requires Secretaries to act on the President's direction, and s24(10) places appointed officers at the President's pleasure. Ordinary statute cannot vest that power elsewhere, and under s51 these clauses would be inoperative against Part III in any event. This objection would stand whoever held that office and whoever held mine.

Second, criminal liability and penalty are fixed by policy the Bill never requires to be published.
The amended Illicit Administration offence criminalises administering a Class B or C treatment "in another way that violates DOH policy", and section 6(1) leaves class assignment, which sets both liability and penalty tier, to policy. Section 5(3) requires a public Medicare policy and section 7(1) a public licence list. Nothing requires publication of the policies that define crimes. That cannot be reconciled with Constitution s2(1), with the requirement in s35 that limits be prescribed by law, with s35(9), or with s35(14). Section 6(5) makes the point concrete: a Secretary could reclassify a common vanilla item to Class A with no Bill and no notice, and possession would carry 10 penalty units and 5 minutes imprisonment.

Third, the Bill permits withdrawal of Medicare for breach of departmental "values".
Section 5(9) allows removal of coverage for breach of "law or Department of Health policy or values". Values are undefined and nowhere required to be written down. Constitution s35(13) guarantees equal benefit of the law without unfair discrimination, naming political belief and social status expressly. Section 5(7) is a milder form of the same defect, and section 5(2) lets policy limit an entitlement the same section calls universal.

Fourth, non-consensual treatment is authorised by policy rather than by law.
Section 8(1)(b) excepts "a contagious or similar disease where treatment is required by policy", section 6(4) permits administration without consent where policy allows, and the amended offence exempts Department employees. A departmental policy therefore suffices to authorise a forcible intervention on a citizen, against Constitution s35(14) and the requirement that limits be prescribed by law. Section 2(2) states the Bill's intent as ending force-curing; the operative text preserves it for the Department.

Fifth, section 8(2) of Part III attempts an entrenchment the Constitution does not permit.
Barring every future Congress from restoring a repealed act, by ordinary majority, fails Constitution s55 and sits against the power in s2(1). It is either void or non-compliant, and should be enacted in neither condition.

Sixth, the Bill reaches into jurisdiction reserved to the Towns.
Sections 4(2)(e) and (f) give the Department power over property standards and over clinics "in Redmont and its' towns". Constitution s32(3) reserves building standards, property administration, business regulation within Town limits, and local permits and enforcement to the Towns. Statute cannot displace that grant.

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Recorded for Congress and the Office of Congressional Affairs, and not grounds of this veto.

(1) Section 6 has no subsection (2). (2) Two sections are numbered 8. (3) A Part II heading appears with no Part I. (4) Section 1(2) commences the Act "upon its signage", leaving it without commencement on assumed assent under s24(3) or on override under s46. (5) Section 8(1)(a) grants privacy over Medicare status while section 5(6) compels its disclosure. (6) Section 3(1)(i) recognises only implied consent, so administering to a person who expressly asked, but did not request a doctor, is an offence as drafted. (7) The Reckless Transmission offence now contains intentional conduct at (b), overlapping its own limb (a) and the Intentional Transmission offence. (8) Section 5(8) says fines "should" be used where it means "shall", and states no mechanism. (9) Section 10 provides for renumbering where nothing is inserted or removed. (10) Section 3(1)(c) includes buffs, which are not treatments under 3(1)(b). (11) Section 2(4) is written in the first person.

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Strike the two notwithstanding clauses, require publication of every policy on which criminal liability or penalty depends, remove "or values", ground non-consensual treatment in statute with the disease criteria on the face of the Act, remove the entrenchment in Part III, and confine sections 4(2)(e) and (f) to matters outside Town jurisdiction. Returned in that form, this Bill has my assent without hesitation.

My thanks to Representative _GreyMC, Health Secretary RaiTheGuy07, Senator and Medical Specialist ElegantAlly, and Medical Specialist SoapMcKakashi for authoring it, and to Representative Rorroh for co-sponsoring. The Redmontian Health Service Act does need replacing, and this Bill is close.

Accordingly, I withhold my assent from this Bill and return it to the Congress.

Theory Fontaine
30th President of the Commonwealth of Redmont
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