And this is the provision in the Health Care Bill that allows doctors to charge for their time when counseling patients on their options regarding the Living Will and Health Care Proxy. Nobody is required to sign these forms, or even attend a counseling session regarding these forms. However, I don't know anyone who makes a will or goes into the hospital for surgery who isn't given the option of signing one of these forms. These forms make explicit your wishes should you be incapacitated and unable to make your own decisions. Do you want your life prolonged if there is no possibility of recovery? Who do you want to make your decisions for you if you're unable to do it yourself?
http://docs.house.gov/edlabor/AAHCA-BillText-071409.pdfSEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION.
16 (a) MEDICARE.—
17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1861 of the Social
18 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x) is amended—
19 (A) in subsection (s)(2)—
20 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of
21 subparagraph (DD);
22 (ii) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of
23 subparagraph (EE); and
24 (iii) by adding at the end the fol25
lowing new subparagraph:
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1 ‘‘(FF) advance care planning consultation (as
2 defined in subsection (hhh)(1));’’; and
3 (B) by adding at the end the following new
4 subsection:
5 ‘‘Advance Care Planning Consultation
6 ‘‘(hhh)(1) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), the
7 term ‘advance care planning consultation’ means a con8
sultation between the individual and a practitioner de9
scribed in paragraph (2) regarding advance care planning,
10 if, subject to paragraph (3), the individual involved has
11 not had such a consultation within the last 5 years. Such
12 consultation shall include the following:
13 ‘‘(A) An explanation by the practitioner of ad14
vance care planning, including key questions and
15 considerations, important steps, and suggested peo16
ple to talk to.
17 ‘‘(B) An explanation by the practitioner of ad18
vance directives, including living wills and durable
19 powers of attorney, and their uses.
20 ‘‘(C) An explanation by the practitioner of the
21 role and responsibilities of a health care proxy.
22 ‘‘(D) The provision by the practitioner of a list
23 of national and State-specific resources to assist con24
sumers and their families with advance care plan25
ning, including the national toll-free hotline, the ad-
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1 vance care planning clearinghouses, and State legal
2 service organizations (including those funded
3 through the Older Americans Act of 1965).
4 ‘‘(E) An explanation by the practitioner of the
5 continuum of end-of-life services and supports avail6
able, including palliative care and hospice, and bene7
fits for such services and supports that are available
8 under this title.
9 ‘‘(F)(i) Subject to clause (ii), an explanation of
10 orders regarding life sustaining treatment or similar
11 orders, which shall include—
12 ‘‘(I) the reasons why the development of
13 such an order is beneficial to the individual and
14 the individual’s family and the reasons why
15 such an order should be updated periodically as
16 the health of the individual changes;
17 ‘‘(II) the information needed for an indi18
vidual or legal surrogate to make informed deci19
sions regarding the completion of such an
20 order; and
21 ‘‘(III) the identification of resources that
22 an individual may use to determine the require23
ments of the State in which such individual re24
sides so that the treatment wishes of that indi25
vidual will be carried out if the individual is un-
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1 able to communicate those wishes, including re2
quirements regarding the designation of a sur3
rogate decisionmaker (also known as a health
4 care proxy).
5 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall limit the requirement
6 for explanations under clause (i) to consultations
7 furnished in a State—
8 ‘‘(I) in which all legal barriers have been
9 addressed for enabling orders for life sustaining
10 treatment to constitute a set of medical orders
11 respected across all care settings; and
12 ‘‘(II) that has in effect a program for or13
ders for life sustaining treatment described in
14 clause (iii).
15 ‘‘(iii) A program for orders for life sustaining
16 treatment for a States described in this clause is a
17 program that—
18 ‘‘(I) ensures such orders are standardized
19 and uniquely identifiable throughout the State;
20 ‘‘(II) distributes or makes accessible such
21 orders to physicians and other health profes22
sionals that (acting within the scope of the pro23
fessional’s authority under State law) may sign
24 orders for life sustaining treatment;
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1 ‘‘(III) provides training for health care
2 professionals across the continuum of care
3 about the goals and use of orders for life sus4
taining treatment; and
5 ‘‘(IV) is guided by a coalition of stake6
holders includes representatives from emergency
7 medical services, emergency department physi8
cians or nurses, state long-term care associa9
tion, state medical association, state surveyors,
10 agency responsible for senior services, state de11
partment of health, state hospital association,
12 home health association, state bar association,
13 and state hospice association.
14 ‘‘(2) A practitioner described in this paragraph is—
15 ‘‘(A) a physician (as defined in subsection
16 (r)(1)); and
17 ‘‘(B) a nurse practitioner or physician’s assist18
ant who has the authority under State law to sign
19 orders for life sustaining treatments.
20 ‘‘(3)(A) An initial preventive physical examination
21 under subsection (WW), including any related discussion
22 during such examination, shall not be considered an ad23
vance care planning consultation for purposes of applying
24 the 5-year limitation under paragraph (1).
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1 ‘‘(B) An advance care planning consultation with re2
spect to an individual may be conducted more frequently
3 than provided under paragraph (1) if there is a significant
4 change in the health condition of the individual, including
5 diagnosis of a chronic, progressive, life-limiting disease, a
6 life-threatening or terminal diagnosis or life-threatening
7 injury, or upon admission to a skilled nursing facility, a
8 long-term care facility (as defined by the Secretary), or
9 a hospice program.
10 ‘‘(4) A consultation under this subsection may in11
clude the formulation of an order regarding life sustaining
12 treatment or a similar order.
13 ‘‘(5)(A) For purposes of this section, the term ‘order
14 regarding life sustaining treatment’ means, with respect
15 to an individual, an actionable medical order relating to
16 the treatment of that individual that—
17 ‘‘(i) is signed and dated by a physician (as de18
fined in subsection (r)(1)) or another health care
19 professional (as specified by the Secretary and who
20 is acting within the scope of the professional’s au21
thority under State law in signing such an order, in22
cluding a nurse practitioner or physician assistant)
23 and is in a form that permits it to stay with the in24
dividual and be followed by health care professionals
25 and providers across the continuum of care;
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1 ‘‘(ii) effectively communicates the individual’s
2 preferences regarding life sustaining treatment, in3
cluding an indication of the treatment and care de4
sired by the individual;
5 ‘‘(iii) is uniquely identifiable and standardized
6 within a given locality, region, or State (as identified
7 by the Secretary); and
8 ‘‘(iv) may incorporate any advance directive (as
9 defined in section 1866(f)(3)) if executed by the in10
dividual.
11 ‘‘(B) The level of treatment indicated under subpara12
graph (A)(ii) may range from an indication for full treat13
ment to an indication to limit some or all or specified
14 interventions. Such indicated levels of treatment may in15
clude indications respecting, among other items—
16 ‘‘(i) the intensity of medical intervention if the
17 patient is pulse less, apneic, or has serious cardiac
18 or pulmonary problems;
19 ‘‘(ii) the individual’s desire regarding transfer
20 to a hospital or remaining at the current care set21
ting;
22 ‘‘(iii) the use of antibiotics; and
23 ‘‘(iv) the use of artificially administered nutri24
tion and hydration.’’.
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1 (2) PAYMENT.—Section 1848(j)(3) of such Act
2 (42 U.S.C. 1395w-4(j)(3)) is amended by inserting
3 ‘‘(2)(FF),’’ after ‘‘(2)(EE),’’.
4 (3) FREQUENCY LIMITATION.—Section 1862(a)
5 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395y(a)) is amended—
6 (A) in paragraph (1)—
7 (i) in subparagraph (N), by striking
8 ‘‘and’’ at the end;
9 (ii) in subparagraph (O) by striking
10 the semicolon at the end and inserting ‘‘,
11 and’’; and
12 (iii) by adding at the end the fol13
lowing new subparagraph:
14 ‘‘(P) in the case of advance care planning
15 consultations (as defined in section
16 1861(hhh)(1)), which are performed more fre17
quently than is covered under such section;’’;
18 and
19 (B) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘or (K)’’
20 and inserting ‘‘(K), or (P)’’.
21 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made
22 by this subsection shall apply to consultations fur23
nished on or after January 1, 2011.
http://www.health.state.ny.us/forms/doh-1430.pdfHealth Care Proxy(1) I, ____________________________________________________________________________________
hereby appoint _________________________________________________________________________
(name, home address and telephone number)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
as my health care agent to make any and all health care decisions for me, except to the extent that I state otherwise. This proxy shall take effect only when and if I become unable to make my own health care decisions.
(2) Optional: Alternate Agent
If the person I appoint is unable, unwilling or unavailable to act as my health care agent, I hereby
appoint ______________________________________________________________________________
(name, home address and telephone number)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
as my health care agent to make any and all health care decisions for me, except to the extent that I state otherwise.
(3) Unless I revoke it or state an expiration date or circumstances under which it will expire, this proxy shall remain in effect indefinitely. (Optional: If you want this proxy to expire, state the date or conditions here.) This proxy shall expire (specify date or conditions): ______________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
(4) Optional: I direct my health care agent to make health care decisions according to my wishes and limitations, as he or she knows or as stated below. (If you want to limit your agent’s authority to make health care decisions for you or to give specific instructions, you may state your wishes or limitations here.) I direct my health care agent to make health care decisions in accordance with the following limitations and/or instructions (attach additional pages as necessary): ___________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
In order for your agent to make health care decisions for you about artificial nutrition and hydration (nourishment and water provided by feeding tube and intravenous line), your agent must reasonably know your wishes. You can either tell your agent what your wishes are or include them in this section. See instructions for sample language that you could use if you choose to include your wishes on this form, including your wishes about artificial nutrition and hydration.
(5) Your Identification (please print)
Your Name ____________________________________________________________________________
Your Signature__________________________________________________ Date _________________
Your Address___________________________________________________________________________
(6) Optional: Organ and/or Tissue Donation
I hereby make an anatomical gift, to be effective upon my death, of:
(check any that apply)
■ Any needed organs and/or tissues
■ The following organs and/or tissues _____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
■ Limitations_________________________________________________________________________
If you do not state your wishes or instructions about organ and/or tissue donation on this form, it will not be taken to mean that you do not wish to make a donation or prevent a person, who is otherwise authorized by law, to consent to a donation on your behalf.
Your Signature____________________________ Date________________________________________
(7) Statement by Witnesses (Witnesses must be 18 years of age or older and cannot be the health care agent or alternate.)
I declare that the person who signed this document is personally known to me and appears to be of sound mind and acting of his or her own free will. He or she signed (or asked another to sign for him or her) this document in my presence.
Date_____________________________________ Date________________________________________
Name of Witness 1 Name of Witness 2
(print)___________________________________ (print)______________________________________
Signature________________________________ Signature___________________________________
Address__________________________________ Address_____________________________________