S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
8056
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
June 17, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GOLDFEDER -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring health
care facilities to respect each patient's religious beliefs with
regard to the provision of care
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Paragraph (g) of subdivision 1 of section 2803 of the
public health law, as added by chapter 2 of the laws of 1988, is amended
to read as follows:
(g) The commissioner shall require that every general hospital adopt
and make public an identical statement of the rights and responsibil-
ities of patients, including a patient complaint and quality of care
review process, a right to an appropriate patient discharge plan, A
RIGHT TO INDEPENDENT PERSONAL DECISIONS PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH A OF
SUBDIVISION THREE OF SECTION TWENTY-EIGHT HUNDRED THREE-C OF THIS ARTI-
CLE and, for patients other than beneficiaries of title XVIII of the
federal social security act (medicare), a right to a discharge review in
accordance with section twenty-eight hundred three-i of this article.
The form and content of such statement shall be determined in accordance
with rules and regulations adopted by the council and approved by the
commissioner. A patient who requires continuing health care services in
accordance with such patient's discharge plan may not be discharged
until such services are secured or determined by the hospital to be
reasonably available to the patient. Each general hospital shall give a
copy of the statement to each patient, or the appointed personal repre-
sentative of the patient at or prior to the time of admission to the
general hospital, as long as the patient or the appointed personal
representative of the patient receives such notice no earlier than four-
teen days before admission. Such statement shall also be conspicuously
posted by the hospital and shall be a part of the patient's admission
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11503-04-3
A. 8056 2
package. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to limit any
authority vested in the commissioner pursuant to this article related to
the operation of hospitals and care and services provided to patients.
S 2. Paragraph a of subdivision 3 of section 2803-c of the public
health law, as added by chapter 648 of the laws of 1975, is amended to
read as follows:
a. Every patient's civil and religious liberties, including the right
to independent personal decisions and knowledge of available choices,
shall not be infringed and the facility shall [encourage] FACILITATE and
assist in the fullest possible exercise of these rights. EVERY
PATIENT'S RELIGIOUS BELIEFS SHALL BE RESPECTED WITH REGARD TO WITHHOLD-
ING OR WITHDRAWING LIFE SUSTAINING TREATMENTS, OR DISCHARGE FROM A
FACILITY. IF SUCH PATIENT IS INCAPACITATED, SUCH DETERMINATION SHALL BE
MADE BY THEIR AGENT OR SURROGATE AS APPLICABLE BY LAW.
S 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
have become a law.