Bill > HB747

This bill establishes the "Designated Health Care Decision-Maker Act", which creates a structured process for determining who can make health care decisions for patients who are incapacitated and lack a pre-existing legal guardian or power of attorney. The bill defines key terms like "incapacitated" (unable to make essential health care decisions) and outlines a priority list of potential decision-makers, starting with the patient's spouse and moving through family members like adult children, parents, siblings, and grandparents. The legislation includes important safeguards, such as excluding individuals with reported abuse allegations and requiring decision-makers to act in the patient's best interests while considering the patient's known preferences and beliefs. Health care providers are protected from liability when making good-faith efforts to identify appropriate decision-makers, and they can decline to provide care that conflicts with their religious or moral convictions, but must facilitate patient transfer in such cases. The bill explicitly prohibits decisions intended to hasten death and requires that artificially supplied nutrition and hydration can only be withdrawn under specific medical circumstances. The legislation also ensures that health care decisions cannot discriminate against patients based on age, disability status, or terminal condition, and it reaffirms existing protections for pregnant patients.

https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB747&year=2025&code=R