HB 2083: Long-term care consent

Summary

• Provides that a person authorized to provide informed health care consent for a patient who does not have capacity to make health care decisions is also authorized to provide consent for long-term care.
• Requires a person consenting for long-term care on behalf of a patient to actively assist in any initiation of guardianship, conservatorship, or other protective arrangements.
• Authorizes the Department of Social and Health Services, a hospital, or an interested party to file for guardianship, conservatorship, or other protective arrangements.
• Permits the court, instead of appointing a guardian, to authorize a discharge from an acute care hospital to home or to a long-term care setting, or to direct a plan of care required to receive Medicaid or other government-funded services.
• Adds authorization for Medicaid and other government-funded services to the list of actions the court may order instead of appointing a conservator.
• Requires superior courts to prioritize guardianship petitions for any respondent who is a patient in an acute care hospital at the time the petition is filed.

From the House Bill Analysis 2022 (HB 2083), written by the Legislature's nonpartisan staff. Read the full report ↗