HOUSE AMENDED
PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 457, 1105 PRINTER'S NO. 1384
No. 405 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY MOWERY, MURPHY, TOMLINSON, BRIGHTBILL, KUKOVICH,
BELL, SCHWARTZ, MUSTO, COSTA, STOUT, EARLL, WHITE, WAGNER,
WOZNIAK, CORMAN, WAUGH, THOMPSON, MELLOW, SLOCUM,
TARTAGLIONE, LEMMOND, HUGHES AND BODACK, FEBRUARY 23, 1999
AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, OCTOBER 5, 1999
AN ACT
1 Providing a mechanism for parents to confer upon other persons
2 the power to consent to medical and mental health care of
3 their children; and regulating procedure.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Short title.
7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Medical
8 Consent Act.
9 Section 2. Legislative intent.
10 It is the intent of the General Assembly to provide a
11 mechanism similar to a power of attorney whereby parents may
12 confer the power to consent to medical and mental health
13 treatment of their children upon a relative or family friend in
14 order to enable those who are temporarily unable to care for the
15 needs of their children to ensure that the medical and mental
16 health needs of the children are met without terminating or
1 limiting in any way the legal rights of the parents.
2 Section 3. Medical and mental health care consent.
3 (a) General rule.--A parent, legal guardian or legal
4 custodian of a minor may confer upon an adult person WHO IS A <--
5 RELATIVE OR FAMILY FRIEND the power to consent to medical,
6 surgical, dental, developmental, mental health or other
7 treatment to be rendered to the minor under the supervision of
8 or upon the advice of a physician, nurse, school nurse, dentist,
9 mental health or other health care professional licensed to
10 practice in this Commonwealth and TO EXERCISE ANY EXISTING <--
11 PARENTAL RIGHTS to obtain any and all records AND INFORMATION <--
12 with regard to the health care services and insurance, unless
13 the minor is in the custody of a county child and youth agency
14 or there is currently in effect a prior order of a court in any
15 jurisdiction which would prohibit the parent, legal guardian or
16 legal custodian from exercising the power that the parent, legal
17 guardian or legal custodian seeks to confer. When a parent's
18 rights have not been terminated or voluntarily relinquished,
19 nothing in this subsection shall divest a parent of the power to
20 consent to his children's medical or mental health treatment.
21 The authorization may also include the right to act as the
22 minor's legal representative for the purposes of receiving
23 informational materials regarding vaccines under section 2126 of
24 the Public Health Service Act (58 Stat. 682, 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-
25 26). CONFERRAL OF POWERS AUTHORIZED BY THIS SUBSECTION SHALL NOT <--
26 BE USED TO COMPEL THE PRODUCTION OR RELEASE OF RECORDS OR
27 INFORMATION TO WHICH THE PARENT, LEGAL GUARDIAN OR LEGAL
28 CUSTODIAN WOULD NOT THEMSELVES BE ENTITLED TO REVIEW, RECEIVE OR
29 AUTHORIZE RELEASE TO OTHERS.
30 (b) Rights of minors.--The provisions of subsection (a) may
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1 not be utilized by a parent, legal guardian or legal custodian
2 to confer upon an adult person WHO IS A RELATIVE OR FAMILY <--
3 FRIEND the power to consent to treatment or to obtain medical or
4 mental health records, or insurance records relating to either
5 or both, if the power to consent to treatment or to obtain
6 medical or mental health records has been assigned by Federal or
7 State law to the minor.
8 (c) Form of authorization.--
9 (1) Authorization to consent to medical or mental health
10 treatment of a minor may be conveyed by any written form
11 containing the name of the person upon whom the power is
12 conferred, the name and date of birth of each minor with
13 respect to whom the power is conferred, a statement by the
14 person conferring the power that there are no court orders
15 presently in effect that would prohibit the person from
16 conferring the power and a description of the categories for
17 which power is being conferred, including medical, surgical,
18 dental, developmental, mental health or other treatment or a
19 description of the specific treatment for which power is
20 being conferred. The authorization shall be signed by the
21 parent, legal guardian or legal custodian in the presence of
22 and along with the contemporaneous signatures of two
23 witnesses who are at least 18 years of age. The person upon
24 whom the power to consent to medical or mental health
25 treatment is being conferred may not serve as one of the
26 witnesses. The adult person upon whom the power to consent to
27 medical or mental health treatment is conferred shall also
28 sign the authorization. If for any physical reason the person
29 executing the authorization is unable to sign, the person
30 executing the authorization may make a mark to which that
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1 person's name shall be subscribed immediately thereafter.
2 (2) The authorization may be substantially in the
3 following form, except that the use of alternative language
4 shall not be precluded:
5 MEDICAL CONSENT AUTHORIZATION
6 ( ) I (name ) am the parent of the child(ren)
7 listed below and there are no court orders now in effect
8 that would prohibit me from conferring the power to
9 consent upon another person.
10 ( ) I (name ) am the legal guardian or legal
11 custodian of the child(ren) by court order (copy
12 attached, if available) and there are no other court
13 orders in effect that would prohibit me from conferring
14 the power to consent upon another person.
15 I, , do hereby confer upon ,
16 residing at the power to consent to
17 necessary medical or mental health treatment for the
18 following child(ren): , residing at
19 , born on , and on the
20 child(ren)'s behalf do hereby state that the power to
21 consent which I confer shall not be affected by my
22 subsequent disability or incapacity.
23 The power which I confer is specifically limited to
24 health care and mental health care decision making, and
25 it may be exercised only by the person named above.
26 The person named above may consent to the
27 child(ren)'s (cross out all that do not apply): medical,
28 dental, surgical, developmental, and/or mental health
29 examination or treatment, and may have access to any and
30 all records, including, but not limited to, insurance
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1 records regarding any such services.
2 I confer the power to consent freely and knowingly in
3 order to provide for the child(ren) and not as a result
4 of pressure, threats or payments by any person or agency.
5 This document shall remain in effect until it is revoked
6 by notifying my child(ren)'s medical, mental health care,
7 and insurance providers, in writing, and the person named
8 above that I wish to revoke it.
9 In witness whereof, I, , have signed
10 my name to this medical consent authorization, consisting
11 of two (2) pages on this day of , , in
12 , Pennsylvania.
13 (Printed Name)
14 (Signature)
15 (Witness Signature)
16 (Witness No.1 printed Name and Address)
17 (Witness Signature)
18 (Witness No.2 printed Name and Address)
19 (Signature of adult person who is being given power
20 to consent)
21 (d) Use by health care provider.--An authorization described
22 in subsection (a) which is consistent with the requirements of
23 subsection (c)(1) shall be honored by all physicians, nurses,
24 school nurses, mental health professionals, dentists, other
25 health care professionals, hospitals, medical facilities, mental
26 health facilities, and insurance providers. Notwithstanding the
27 provisions of subsection (f), the existence of a written
28 document conveying powers as described in subsection (a) which
29 is consistent with the requirements of subsection (c)(1) creates
30 a presumption that the power has been lawfully conferred.
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1 (e) Revocation.--Powers conferred under this section are
2 revocable at will and effective upon notifying all parties of
3 interest IN WRITING. Death of a person who has previously <--
4 executed a medical consent authorization constitutes revocation
5 of the authorization, except that action taken without actual
6 knowledge of the death in good faith reliance upon the
7 authorization shall be permitted. Unless otherwise indicated on
8 the authorization, disability or incapacity of the person
9 executing the authorization does not constitute revocation of
10 the authorization.
11 (f) Liability.--A person, contractholder, group health care
12 provider, mental health care provider, health care facility,
13 mental health care facility and insurer who acts in good faith
14 reliance on medical consent authorization shall not incur civil
15 or criminal liability or be subject to professional disciplinary
16 action for treating a minor without legal consent, except that
17 nothing in this section shall relieve an individual from
18 liability for violations of other provisions of law.
19 (g) Family reunification services.--This section shall not
20 be construed to provide a substitute for family reunification
21 services under 23 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63 (relating to child protective
22 services). The execution of an authorization pursuant to
23 subsection (a) shall not be binding in future custody or
24 dependency proceedings. Regardless of the execution of a medical
25 consent authorization, future custody or dependency
26 determinations shall be based on the prevailing legal standard.
27 (h) Determination of insurance coverage.--An insurer shall
28 determine whether to add a child to the insurance coverage of a
29 person who has been authorized to consent to treatment of that
30 child under this section. No provision of this section may be
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1 construed to compel an insurer to provide such coverage.
2 Section 4. Effective date.
3 This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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