NY Palliative Care Information Act: Effective on Feb. 9

While Medicare coverage for advance care planning in the annual wellness visit has evaporated, state law mandates for advance care planning are proceeding.  Notably, in August 2010, New York Governor Patterson signed the Palliative Care Information Act. The bill provided that the law would go into effect in 180 days.  The bill (S.4498 A.7617) has been codified at N.Y. Pub. Health 2997-C. Here is the full text of the law:

 Palliative  care patient information. 1. Definitions. As
  used in this section, the  following  terms  shall  have  the  following
  meanings, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
    (a)  "Appropriate"  means consistent with applicable legal, health and
  professional standards; the patient's clinical and other circumstances;
  and the patient's reasonably known wishes and beliefs.
    (b)  "Attending  health  care practitioner" means a physician or nurse
  practitioner who has primary responsibility for the care  and  treatment
  of  the  patient.  Where  more  than one physician or nurse practitioner
  share that responsibility, each of them has  responsibility under  this
  section, unless they agree to assign that responsibility to one of them.
    (c)   "Palliative care" means  health  care  treatment,  including
  interdisciplinary end-of-life care, and consultation with  patients  and
  family  members, to prevent or relieve pain and suffering and to enhance
  the patient's quality of life, including  hospice  care  under  article
  forty of this chapter.
    (d)  "Terminal  illness or condition" means an illness or condition
  which can reasonably be expected  to cause death within six  months,
  whether or not treatment is provided.
    2. If a patient is diagnosed with a terminal illness or condition, the
  patient's  attending health care practitioner shall offer to provide the
  patient with information and counseling regarding  palliative  care  and
  end-of-life options appropriate  to the patient,  including  but not
  limited to: the  range  of  options  appropriate  to  the  patient;  the
  prognosis, risks and benefits of the various options; and the patient's
  legal rights to comprehensive pain and symptom management at the end  of
  life.  The information and counseling may be provided orally or in
  writing. Where the patient lacks capacity to reasonably  understand  and
  make  informed choices relating to palliative care, the attending health
  care practitioner shall provide information and  counseling  under  this
  section to a person with authority to make health care decisions for the
  patient.  The attending health care practitioner  may  arrange  for
  information and counseling under this section to be provided by  another
  professionally qualified individual.
    3.  Where the attending  health care practitioner is not willing to
  provide the patient with information and counseling under this section,
  he  or  she shall arrange for another physician or nurse practitioner to
  do so, or shall refer or transfer the patient to  another physician  or
  nurse practitioner willing to do so.