SENATE BILL No. 781
October 23, 2001, Introduced by Senators GARCIA, SHUGARS, SCHWARZ and HAMMERSTROM and referred to the Committee on Health Policy.
A bill to amend 1978 PA 368, entitled
"Public health code,"
by amending sections 5656, 5657, 5658, 5659, and 5660
(MCL 333.5656, 333.5657, 333.5658, 333.5659, and 333.5660), as
added by 1996 PA 594.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
1 Sec. 5656. (1)
Within 60 days
after the effective date of
2 the amendatory act that
added this
part BY JULY 1, 2002, the
3 department of community health
shall
develop and publish a AN
4 UPDATED standardized, written summary that contains all of the
5 information required under section 5655.
6 (2) The department shall develop the standardized, written
7 summary in consultation with appropriate professional and other
8 organizations. The department shall draft the summary in
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1 nontechnical terms that a patient, patient surrogate, or patient
2 advocate can easily understand.
3 (3) The department shall make the standardized, written sum-
4 mary described in subsection (1) available to physicians through
5 the Michigan board of medicine and the Michigan board of osteo-
6 pathic medicine and surgery created in article 15. The Michigan
7 board of medicine and the Michigan board of osteopathic medicine
8 and surgery shall notify in writing each physician subject to
9 this part of the requirements of this part and the availability
10 of the standardized, written summary within 10 days after the
11 summary is published.
12 Sec. 5657. (1) If a physician gives a copy of the standard-
13 ized, written summary made available under section 5656 to a
14 terminally ill
patient WITH
REDUCED LIFE EXPECTANCY DUE TO
15 ADVANCED ILLNESS, to the patient's patient surrogate, or to the
16 patient's
patient advocate, the
physician is in full compliance
17 with the requirements of section 5655.
18 (2) A physician may make
available to a terminally ill
19 patient WITH REDUCED LIFE EXPECTANCY DUE TO ADVANCED ILLNESS, to
20 the patient's patient surrogate, or
to the patient's patient
21 advocate a form indicating that the patient, patient surrogate,
22 or patient advocate has been given a copy of the standardized,
23 written summary described in section 5656 and received the oral
24 information required under section 5654. If a physician makes
25 such a form available to a
terminally ill patient, to the
26 patient's patient surrogate, or to
the patient's patient
27 advocate, the physician shall request that the patient, patient's
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1 patient surrogate, or patient advocate sign the form and shall
2 place a copy of the signed form in the patient's medical record.
3 (3) A patient, a patient's patient surrogate, or a patient
4 advocate who signs a form under subsection (2) is barred from
5 subsequently bringing a civil
, or
administrative action
6 against the physician for providing the information orally and in
7 writing under section 5655 based on failure to obtain informed
8 consent.
9 Sec. 5658. A physician who, as part of a medical treatment
10 plan for a terminally ill
patient
WITH REDUCED LIFE EXPECTANCY
11 DUE TO ADVANCED ILLNESS,
prescribes
for the terminally ill THAT
12 patient a controlled substance that is included in schedules 2 to
13 5 under part 72 and that is a narcotic drug is immune from admin-
14 istrative and civil liability based on prescribing the controlled
15 substance if the prescription is given in good faith and with the
16 intention to treat a patient with
a
terminal illness REDUCED
17 LIFE EXPECTANCY DUE TO ADVANCED ILLNESS or alleviate the
18 patient's pain, or both, and all of the following are met:
19 (a) The prescription is for a legitimate legal and profes-
20 sionally recognized therapeutic purpose.
21 (b) Prescribing the controlled substance is within the scope
22 of practice of the physician.
23 (c) The physician holds a valid license under article 7 to
24 prescribe controlled substances.
25 Sec. 5659. A life insurer, a health insurer, or a health
26 care payment or benefits plan shall not do 1 or more of the
27 following because a
terminally ill
patient WITH REDUCED LIFE
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1 EXPECTANCY DUE TO ADVANCED ILLNESS, the patient's patient
2 surrogate, or the patient's patient advocate has made a decision
3 to refuse or discontinue a medical treatment as a result of
4 information received as required under this part:
5 (a) Refuse to provide or continue coverage or benefits to
6 the terminally ill
patient within
the scope and level of cover-
7 age or benefits of an existing policy, certificate, or contract.
8 (b) Limit the amount of
coverage or benefits available to a
9 terminally ill
THE patient within
the scope and level of cover-
10 age or benefits of an existing policy, certificate, or contract.
11 (c) Charge the
terminally ill
patient a different rate for
12 coverage or benefits under an existing policy, certificate, or
13 contract.
14 (d) Consider the terms of an existing policy, certificate,
15 or contract to have been breached or modified.
16 (e) Invoke a suicide or intentional death exemption or
17 exclusion in a policy, certificate, or contract covering the
18 terminally ill
patient.
19 Sec. 5660. This part does not do the following:
20 (a) Impair or supersede a legal right a parent, patient,
21 advocate, legal guardian, or other individual may have to consent
22 to or refuse medical treatment on behalf of another.
23 (b) Create a presumption about
a terminally ill patient's
24 desire THE
DESIRE OF A PATIENT WHO
HAS REDUCED LIFE EXPECTANCY
25 DUE TO ADVANCED ILLNESS to receive or refuse medical treatment,
26 regardless of the ability of the patient to participate in
27 medical treatment decisions.
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1 (c) Limit the ability of a court making a determination
2 about a terminally ill
patient's
medical treatment decisions
3 DECISION OF A PATIENT WHO HAS REDUCED LIFE EXPECTANCY DUE TO
4 ADVANCED ILLNESS to take into consideration all of the following
5 state interests:
6 (i) The preservation of life.
7 (ii) The prevention of suicide.
8 (iii) The protection of innocent third parties.
9 (iv) The preservation of the integrity of the medical
10 profession.
11 (d) Condone, authorize, or approve suicide, assisted sui-
12 cide, mercy killing, or euthanasia.
13 Enacting section 1. Section 5657 of the public health code,
14 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.5657, as amended by this amendatory act,
15 takes effect March 1, 2002.
16 Enacting section 2. This amendatory act does not take
17 effect unless Senate Bill No. 782
18 of the 91st Legislature is enacted into
19 law.
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