Special Populations
AB 2340 by Tom Harman (R-Huntington Beach) was amended to include a provision that would allow health care providers to designate a surrogate when more than one individual assumes the authority to make decisions on a patient's behalf. The bill also would prohibit a person from acting as a surrogate if the person is unable or unwilling to make health care decisions for the patient, rather than if the competence or motives of that person are questionable. Under the legislation, a health care provider would be required to make a reasonable effort to contact a person to act as a surrogate or obtain a patient's advance health care directive (Bill text, 6/8). The bill was rereferred to the Senate Judiciary Committee and a hearing was scheduled for June 20 (Bill status, 6/8).
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