Statement on passage of AB 598: Bill lets hospital pick a decision maker, puts patient’s rights at risk

Today the state Assembly passed AB 598, which lets hospitals pick a decision-maker based on a list set in statute (called a Patient’s Representative) if a patient does not have a Power of Attorney for Health care and becomes unable to make medical decisions.

AB 598 bill has been amended three times, including the introduction of sub-amendments on the same day the bill was scheduled for a floor vote in the Assembly. This legislation would benefit from bringing together all stakeholders, including patient advocates, to ensure any new decision-making process addresses hospital discharge concerns without doing any harm to medically incapacitated persons. These amendments reviewed to date do not address the core issues of concern to patient advocates, and recent changes raise additional questions for advocates.

Read full Press Release here.