Re: Congressmen not reading legislation & the Slate Article to that effect
An August Op-Ed in the New York Times informed readers of impending regulation which required that any health insurance policy in Rhode Island be written at the eighth-grade level. The author insisted that such a change was going to "[address] the need for consumers to be able to read and understand the provisions of their own health insurance policies."
Perhaps a similar need exists for Congress and its legislation - and, if potential bills can be turned into legalese, why can't they also be made available in plain English? Though Congress does use more easily understood "conceptual language" on some occasions, requiring both a legalese and an easy-read version of any bill would 1) make legislation accessible to even those citizens with lesser educations and 2) ensure that the legal versions of bills are as their creators intended.
The Op-Ed provided examples (in a potential health care insurance policy) of the difference between difficult-to-decipher legal jargon and an easy-to-understand policy written at the eighth grade level. The results were stunning:
Original:
The plan covering the patient as a dependent child of a person whose date of birth occurs earlier in the calendar year shall be primary over the plan covering the patient as a dependent of a person whose date of birth occurs later in the calendar year provided. However, in the case of a dependent child of legally separated or divorced parents, the plan covering the patient as a dependent of the parent with legal custody, or as a dependent of the custodial parent’s spouse (i.e., stepparent), shall be primary over the plan covering the patient as a dependent of the parent without legal custody.
"Easy-read":
What happens if my spouse and I both have health coverage for our child?
If your child is covered under more than one insurance policy, the policy of the adult whose birthday is earlier in the year pays the claim first. For example: Your birthday is in March; your spouse’s birthday is in May. March comes earlier in the year than May, so your policy will pay for your child’s claim first.
What happens if I am legally separated or divorced?
If your child is covered by your policy and also by the policy of your separated or divorced spouse, the policy of the parent with legal custody pays first. In other words, if you have legal custody, your plan pays first. The same rule applies even if your child is covered by a health insurance policy of a stepparent. For example: Your former spouse has legal custody, and his/her new spouse’s policy covers your child. The new spouse’s policy will pay your child’s claim first.
"Plan English" bills would be especially helpful in encouraging genuine debate among citizens, while simultaneously discouraging frivolous fears. The distracting "death panel" scandal, for instance, relied heavily on semantics and implications drawn from the complications of legislation. To see an example of this, watch the debate on "end of life consultations" between Betsey McCaughey and Jon Stewart:
1 comment:
This really is shameful. She can't even find the reference she's looking for and her case is nothing but scare tactics. Hopefully the debate can move past stuff like this.
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