President Obama issued a memo directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure that same-sex partners have the same visitation rights as other immediate family members. HHS should “Initiate appropriate rulemaking . . . to ensure that hospitals that participate in Medicare or Medicaid respect the rights of patients to designate visitors.” The memo also says that hospitals should “guarantee that all patients’ advance directives, such as durable powers of attorney and health care proxies, are respected, and that patients’ representatives otherwise have the right to make informed decisions regarding patients’ care.” It’s a start. Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) said the language of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) had been finalized and “We’re going to get the bill voted on this spring.” The House Ethics Committee has drafted rules that would define same-sex married couples as “spouses” for the purposes of the annual Congressional financial disclosure forms completed