HEALTH CARE LAW
New Model Health Care Power of Attorney form addresses Alzheimer’s patients’ needs By Marsha A. Goetting and Kathy Kenyon A health care power of attorney is one of those basic legal documents that everyone should have. Anyone could need help on a health matter at any time. But, as people age, the need for a health care power of attorney becomes more obvious, the need more inevitable. The need becomes pressing for individuals diagnosed with a medical condition that will impair their ability to make health care decisions and to manage relationships with health care providers and health plans. The federal privacy law the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), limits disclosures by health care providers and health plans of “protected health information” to anyone but the individual, except in limited circumstances. Having a health care power of attorney ensures individuals will have a “personal representative” with the same right to information they have under HIPAA. See 45 CFR Sec. 502(g). This article introduces a model Montana Health Care Power of Attorney. It has been developed by a committee within the Montana Alzheimer’s Disease/Dementia Work Group that developed the Montana’s Alzheimer’s and Dementia State Plan— Addressing the Current and Future
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Needs of the Individuals and families with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (mtalzplan.com/). This group of volunteers consists of health care professionals, advocacy groups, stakeholders, caregivers, doctors, educators, attorneys and citizens who have been affected by dementia and are passionate about improving dementia care in Montana. One of the concerns expressed during town hall meetings across the state was the need for a health care power of attorney. And, one that takes into consideration the many years of slow decline, with ups and downs of capacity that are characteristics of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. If a health care power of attorney is limited to end of life issues (e.g. breathing tubes and feeding/hydration) or becomes effective only when individuals cannot make their own health care decisions, then it is inadequate for the reality of living with Alzheimer’s disease and many other conditions. This Model Health Care Power of Attorney is designed to work for everyone, not just people who need help as they age or who are struggling with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. The form was developed with leadership provided by a number of people, including Kathy Kenyon, a recently retired health attorney whose parents faced the
CLE scheduled for Annual Meeting The Health Care Law Section of the State Bar of Montana will present a CLE on the new Model Health Care Power of Attorney on Friday, Sept. 22, at the State Bar’s Annual Meeting in Kalispell.
Find form online Check the State Bar of Montana website, www. montanabar. org, for a link to the new Model Health Care Power of Attorney form.
WWW.MONTANABAR.ORG WW.MONTANABAR.ORG
