Bill > A07413

This bill modifies and improves the legal process for determining when a patient lacks the mental capacity to make their own healthcare decisions. The bill updates several sections of New York's public health law to clarify and standardize how medical practitioners assess a patient's decision-making capacity, particularly for life-sustaining treatment decisions. Key changes include requiring an initial determination of incapacity by an attending practitioner, followed by an independent concurring determination from another healthcare or social services professional. The bill establishes specific qualifications for practitioners making these determinations, especially in cases involving mental illness or developmental disabilities. For example, when assessing incapacity related to mental illness, the practitioner must be licensed and either certified or eligible for certification by specific psychiatric boards. The bill also ensures that a practitioner who has been appointed as a patient's healthcare agent cannot make the determination of the patient's capacity. Additionally, the bill specifies that these new rules will apply to healthcare proxies created both before and after the law's effective date, which will be 90 days after it becomes law. The overall goal is to create a more rigorous, consistent, and protective process for evaluating a patient's ability to make critical healthcare decisions.

Health and Social Services

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A7413