NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3245A
SPONSOR: Rosenthal TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to the artificial
hydration and nutrition 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.
Section two amends the fourth undesignated paragraph of paragraph (d) of
subdivision 5 of section 2981 of the public health law.
Section three amends subdivision 2 of section 2982 of the public health
law.
Section four sets forth the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
This bill makes the decision-making standard for an agent under the
Health Care Proxy Law like 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, includ-
ing 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 misinterpretation.
This amendment would make the FHCDA standard, with its careful defi-
nition of "best interests," and which no applies to decisions by surro-
gates, applicable to decisions by health care agents.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:;
2023-24: A.1448 - Referred to Health; S.2777 - Referred to Health
2021-22: A.2634 - Referred to Codes; S.4967 - Referred to Health
2019-20: A.730-A - Referred to Health
2017-18: A.4055 - Referred to Health
2015-16: A.674 - Referred to Health
2013-14: A.9566-B - Reported to Rules;
S.7154-A - Referred to Health
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
90 days.
