101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB4635

 

Introduced 2/5/2020, by Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
755 ILCS 40/10  from Ch. 110 1/2, par. 851-10

    Amends the Health Care Surrogate Act. Removes the requirement that an attending physician or qualified physician be licensed in Illinois. Effective immediately.


LRB101 17493 LNS 66903 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB4635LRB101 17493 LNS 66903 b

1    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Health Care Surrogate Act is amended by
5changing Section 10 as follows:
 
6    (755 ILCS 40/10)  (from Ch. 110 1/2, par. 851-10)
7    Sec. 10. Definitions.
8    "Adult" means a person who is (i) 18 years of age or older
9or (ii) an emancipated minor under the Emancipation of Minors
10Act.
11    "Artificial nutrition and hydration" means supplying food
12and water through a conduit, such as a tube or intravenous
13line, where the recipient is not required to chew or swallow
14voluntarily, including, but not limited to, nasogastric tubes,
15gastrostomies, jejunostomies, and intravenous infusions.
16Artificial nutrition and hydration does not include assisted
17feeding, such as spoon or bottle feeding.
18    "Available" means that a person is not "unavailable". A
19person is unavailable if (i) the person's existence is not
20known, (ii) the person has not been able to be contacted by
21telephone or mail, or (iii) the person lacks decisional
22capacity, refuses to accept the office of surrogate, or is
23unwilling to respond in a manner that indicates a choice among

 

 

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1the treatment matters at issue.
2    "Attending physician" means the physician selected by or
3assigned to the patient who has primary responsibility for
4treatment and care of the patient and who is a licensed
5physician in Illinois. If more than one physician shares that
6responsibility, any of those physicians may act as the
7attending physician under this Act.
8    "Close friend" means any person 18 years of age or older
9who has exhibited special care and concern for the patient and
10who presents an affidavit to the attending physician stating
11that he or she (i) is a close friend of the patient, (ii) is
12willing and able to become involved in the patient's health
13care, and (iii) has maintained such regular contact with the
14patient as to be familiar with the patient's activities,
15health, and religious and moral beliefs. The affidavit must
16also state facts and circumstances that demonstrate that
17familiarity.
18    "Death" means when, according to accepted medical
19standards, there is (i) an irreversible cessation of
20circulatory and respiratory functions or (ii) an irreversible
21cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the
22brain stem.
23    "Decisional capacity" means the ability to understand and
24appreciate the nature and consequences of a decision regarding
25medical treatment or forgoing life-sustaining treatment and
26the ability to reach and communicate an informed decision in

 

 

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1the matter as determined by the attending physician.
2    "Forgo life-sustaining treatment" means to withhold,
3withdraw, or terminate all or any portion of life-sustaining
4treatment with knowledge that the patient's death is likely to
5result.
6    "Guardian" means a court appointed guardian of the person
7who serves as a representative of a minor or as a
8representative of a person under legal disability.
9    "Health care facility" means a type of health care provider
10commonly known by a wide variety of titles, including but not
11limited to, hospitals, medical centers, nursing homes,
12rehabilitation centers, long term or tertiary care facilities,
13and other facilities established to administer health care and
14provide overnight stays in their ordinary course of business or
15practice.
16    "Health care provider" means a person that is licensed,
17certified, or otherwise authorized or permitted by the law of
18this State to administer health care in the ordinary course of
19business or practice of a profession, including, but not
20limited to, physicians, nurses, health care facilities, and any
21employee, officer, director, agent, or person under contract
22with such a person.
23    "Imminent" (as in "death is imminent") means a
24determination made by the attending physician according to
25accepted medical standards that death will occur in a
26relatively short period of time, even if life-sustaining

 

 

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1treatment is initiated or continued.
2    "Life-sustaining treatment" means any medical treatment,
3procedure, or intervention that, in the judgment of the
4attending physician, when applied to a patient with a
5qualifying condition, would not be effective to remove the
6qualifying condition or would serve only to prolong the dying
7process. Those procedures can include, but are not limited to,
8assisted ventilation, renal dialysis, surgical procedures,
9blood transfusions, and the administration of drugs,
10antibiotics, and artificial nutrition and hydration.
11    "Minor" means an individual who is not an adult as defined
12in this Act.
13    "Parent" means a person who is the natural or adoptive
14mother or father of the child and whose parental rights have
15not been terminated by a court of law.
16    "Patient" means an adult or minor individual, unless
17otherwise specified, under the care or treatment of a licensed
18physician or other health care provider.
19    "Person" means an individual, a corporation, a business
20trust, a trust, a partnership, an association, a government, a
21governmental subdivision or agency, or any other legal entity.
22    "Qualifying condition" means the existence of one or more
23of the following conditions in a patient certified in writing
24in the patient's medical record by the attending physician and
25by at least one other qualified physician:
26        (1) "Terminal condition" means an illness or injury for

 

 

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1    which there is no reasonable prospect of cure or recovery,
2    death is imminent, and the application of life-sustaining
3    treatment would only prolong the dying process.
4        (2) "Permanent unconsciousness" means a condition
5    that, to a high degree of medical certainty, (i) will last
6    permanently, without improvement, (ii) in which thought,
7    sensation, purposeful action, social interaction, and
8    awareness of self and environment are absent, and (iii) for
9    which initiating or continuing life-sustaining treatment,
10    in light of the patient's medical condition, provides only
11    minimal medical benefit.
12        (3) "Incurable or irreversible condition" means an
13    illness or injury (i) for which there is no reasonable
14    prospect of cure or recovery, (ii) that ultimately will
15    cause the patient's death even if life-sustaining
16    treatment is initiated or continued, (iii) that imposes
17    severe pain or otherwise imposes an inhumane burden on the
18    patient, and (iv) for which initiating or continuing
19    life-sustaining treatment, in light of the patient's
20    medical condition, provides only minimal medical benefit.
21    The determination that a patient has a qualifying condition
22creates no presumption regarding the application or
23non-application of life-sustaining treatment. It is only after
24a determination by the attending physician that the patient has
25a qualifying condition that the surrogate decision maker may
26consider whether or not to forgo life-sustaining treatment. In

 

 

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1making this decision, the surrogate shall weigh the burdens on
2the patient of initiating or continuing life-sustaining
3treatment against the benefits of that treatment.
4    "Qualified physician" means a physician licensed to
5practice medicine in all of its branches in Illinois who has
6personally examined the patient.
7    "Surrogate decision maker" means an adult individual or
8individuals who (i) have decisional capacity, (ii) are
9available upon reasonable inquiry, (iii) are willing to make
10medical treatment decisions on behalf of a patient who lacks
11decisional capacity, and (iv) are identified by the attending
12physician in accordance with the provisions of this Act as the
13person or persons who are to make those decisions in accordance
14with the provisions of this Act.
15(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)
 
16    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
17becoming law.