The heated national debate on health care reform has taken an unusual turn, with many eyes focused on a minor provision regarding end-of-life care embedded in the House bill.

The measure provides coverage for Medicare beneficiaries who elect to meet with their medical team once every five years to discuss options for treatment if they become seriously ill. It's called end-of-life care or advance care planning.

Some opponents of the House bill have expended great energy and resources in recent weeks to convince seniors that this provision will somehow result in government-sponsored euthanasia.

We have seen the volatile response to these allegations at town hall meetings across the country.

This argument is completely false. This provision simply provides for Medicare to pay for voluntary conversations between patients and their health care practitioners on the difficult but important subject of planning for care at the end of life.

The provision is purely optional, and patients would be able to choose whether to discuss the issue with their practitioners. For those who decide to do so, there would be clear benefits.

Full story at cnn.com