What's happening
This bill updates the standards for making decisions about artificial nutrition and hydration in health care proxies in New York.
Why it matters
Expands the authority of health care agents. The bill removes prior restrictions that required an agent to know a patient’s explicit wishes about artificial nutrition and hydration (such as feeding tubes) before making decisions, allowing agents to decide based on the patient’s best interests if those wishes aren’t reasonably known.
Clarifies oral feeding is not “health care”. The new language specifies that providing food or water by mouth (without medical devices) is not considered health care under this law, helping families and providers distinguish between basic care and medical interventions.
Applies retroactively to existing proxies. The changes will affect all health care proxies, including those already in place, meaning current proxy-holders may have new decision-making powers regarding artificial nutrition and hydration.
Encourages clearer advance instructions. The revised form language highlights the option for individuals to state specific wishes about life-sustaining treatments, including artificial nutrition and hydration, prompting more explicit guidance to agents and reducing ambiguity in end-of-life care choices.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Change Health Proxy Defaults
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
5939
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 16, 2019
Introduced by Sen. RIVERA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to the artificial nutrition and hydration decision standard
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 2980 of the public health law, as added by chapter 752 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows:
4. "Health care" means any treatment, service or procedure to diagnose or treat an individual's physical or mental condition. Providing nutrition or hydration orally, without reliance on medical treatment, is not health care under this article and is not subject to this article.
§ 2. The fourth undesignated paragraph of paragraph (d) of subdivision 5 of section 2981 of the public health law, as added by chapter 752 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows:
NOTE: Although not necessary, and neither encouraged nor discouraged, you may wish to state instructions or wishes, and limit your agent's authority. [Unless your agent knows your wishes about artificial nutrition and hydration, your agent will not have authority to decide about artificial nutrition and hydration.] For example, you may state your wishes regarding withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment (including hydration and nutrition provided by means of medical treatment) to guide your agent's decisions. If you choose to state instructions, wishes, or limits, please do so below:
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
§ 3. Subdivision 2 of section 2982 of the public health law, as amended by chapter 230 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02549-01-9
S. 5939 2
2. Decision-making standard. After consultation with a licensed physician, registered nurse, licensed psychologist, licensed master social worker, or a licensed clinical social worker, the agent shall make health care decisions: (a) in accordance with the principal's wishes, including the principal's religious and moral beliefs; or (b) if the principal's wishes are not reasonably known and cannot with reasonable diligence be ascertained, in accordance with the principal's best interests[; provided, however, that if the principal's wishes regarding the administration of artificial nutrition and hydration are not reasonably known and cannot with reasonable diligence be ascertained, the agent shall not have the authority to make decisions regarding these measures].
§ 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law, provided that the amendments to sections 2981 and 2982 of the public health law made by sections two and three of this act shall apply to decisions made pursuant to health care proxies created prior to the effective date of this act as well as those created thereafter.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to the artificial nutrition and hydration decision standard
Purpose
This is one of a series of seven bills, informally referred to as the "Surrogate Decision-Making Improvement Acts." The bills make technical/minor, clarifying and coordinating amendments and other improvements to the Family Health Care Decisions Act (FHCDA) (Ch. 8, Laws of 2010) and other laws that govern health care decisions, includ- ing life-sustaining treatment decisions, for patients who lack deci- sion-making capacity. This bill makes the standards for a health care agent's decision regarding artificial nutrition and hydration consistent with the Family Health Care Decision Act (FHCDA).
Summary of specific provisions
Section one amends subdivision 4 of section 2980 of the public health law, as added by chapter 752 of the laws of 1990.
Section two amends the fourth undesignated paragraph of paragraph (d) of subdivision 5 of section 2981 of the public health law, as added by chapter 752 of the laws of 1990.
Section three amends subdivision 2 of section 2982 of the public health law, as amended by chapter 230 of the laws of 2004.
Section four sets forth the effective date.
Justification
This bill makes the decision-making standard for an agent under the Health Care Proxy Law similar to the standard for a surrogate under the Family Health Care Decisions Act (FHCDA).
Specifically, the FHCDA provides that a surrogate must make decisions about life-sustaining treatment, including artificial nutrition and hydration, based on the patient's wishes or, if the patient's wishes are not reasonably known, based on the patient's best interests. In contrast, the 1990 Health Care Proxy Law allows the patient's designated agent to make decisions about artificial nutrition and hydration only if the decision is based on the patient's reasonably known wishes, and not if the decision is based on the patient's best interests. There is little basis for this disparity in standards. Moreover, the special rule for decisions about artificial nutrition and hydration in the Health Care Proxy Law has been a source of enduring confusion and misin- terpretation.
This amendment would make the FHCDA standard, with its careful defi- nition of "best interests," which now applies to decisions made by surrogates, applicable to decisions by health care agents.
Legislative history
2014: S.7154A - Referred to Health
Fiscal implications
None to the State.
Effective date
This bill shall take effect ninety days after the date on which this act shall have become a law. The amendments to article 29-C of the public health law shall apply to decisions made pursuant to health care proxies created prior to this act becoming law as well as those created there- after.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.