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Code · BILL · 113th Congress · S. 3009 (Introduced in Senate) — To improve end-of-life care. · Sec. 2

Sec. 2. Definitions

556 words·~3 min read·/bill/113/s/3009/is/section-2·

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

In this Act: The term advance care planning means the process of— determining an individual’s priorities, values and goals for care in the future when the individual is no longer able to express his or her wishes; engaging family members, health care proxies, and health care providers in an ongoing dialogue about— the individual’s wishes for care; what the future may hold for people with serious illnesses or injuries; how individuals, their health care proxies, and family members want their beliefs and preferences to guide care decisions; and the steps that individuals and family members can take regarding, and the resources available to help with, finances, family matters, spiritual questions, and other issues that impact seriously ill or dying patients and their families; and executing and updating advance directives and appointing a health care proxy.
The term advance directive means a living will, medical directive, health care power of attorney, durable power of attorney, or other written statement by a competent individual that is recognized under State law and indicates the individual's wishes regarding medical treatment in the event of future incompetence. Such term includes an advance health care directive and a health care directive recognized under State law. The term CHIP means the program established under title XXI of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq. ).
The term end-of-life care means all aspects of care of a patient with a potentially fatal condition, and includes care that is focused on specific preparations for an impending death. The term health care power of attorney means a legal document that identifies a health care proxy or decisionmaker for a patient who has the authority to act on the patient’s behalf when the patient is unable to communicate his or her wishes for medical care on matters that the patient specifies when he or she is competent.
Such term includes a durable power of attorney that relates to medical care. The term living will means a legal document— used to specify the type of medical care (including any type of medical treatment, including life-sustaining procedures if that person becomes permanently unconscious or is otherwise dying) that an individual wants provided or withheld in the event the individual cannot speak for himself or herself and cannot express his or her wishes; and that requires a physician to honor the provisions of upon receipt or to transfer the care of the individual covered by the document to another physician that will honor such provisions.
The term Medicaid means the program established under title XIX of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq. ). The term Medicare means the program established under title XVIII of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq. ). The term orders for life-sustaining treatment means a process for focusing a patients' values, goals, and preferences on current medical circumstances and to translate such into visible and portable medical orders applicable across care settings, including home, long-term care, emergency medical services, and hospitals.
The term palliative care means interdisciplinary care for individuals with a life-threatening illness or injury relating to pain and symptom management and psychological, social, and spiritual needs and that seeks to improve the quality of life for the individual and the individual's family. The term Secretary means the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
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