SESSION OF 2024
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 2548
As Amended by House Committee on Health
and Human Services

Brief*
HB 2548, as amended, would establish the No Patient
Left Alone Act (Act) regarding end-of-life care. The Act would
establish who may visit a patient in a patient care facility and
would require patient care facilities to provide for in-person
visitation. The bill would also provide parameters for patient
care facilities as to what restrictions may be placed on
visitors.
The bill would provide patient care facilities immunity
from civil liability for damages for acts taken in compliance
with the bill unless the act constituted gross negligence or
willful, wanton, or reckless conduct and provide for patient
care facilities to remain in compliance with federal law, rules,
regulations, and guidance.
The bill would also make technical amendments.

Definitions
The bill would define terms, including:
● “Essential caregiver” would mean an individual
designated by the patient who meets an essential
need of the patient by assisting with the tasks of
daily living or providing important emotional, social,
or psychological support;
____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org
 ● “Immediate family member” would mean father,
mother, stepparent, child, grandchild, stepchild,
sibling, spouse, or grandparent of the patient;
● “Patient” would mean an individual who is receiving
end-of-life care at a patient care facility; and
● “Patient care facility” would mean any adult care
home including any nursing facility, nursing facility
for mental health, intermediate care facility for
people with intellectual disability, assisted living
facility, residential health care facility, home plus,
boarding care home, adult day care facility,
hospital, ambulatory surgical center or recuperation
center and hospice facility certified to participate in
the Medicare program that provide service only to
hospice patients.
Patient Visitation Requirements
The bill would specify that when providing end-of-life
care, a patient care facility would not be able to take action to
prevent a patient from receiving in-person visitation from any
person designated by the patient, if the patient has the
capacity to make such designation. If the patient does not
have the capacity for such designation, the patient’s agent for
health care decisions established by a durable power of
attorney would be allowed to designate visitors. Visitors could
include, but would not be limited to:
● An immediate family member, domestic partner, or
significant other;
● The agent for health care decisions established by
a durable power of attorney for health care
decisions;
● An essential caregiver; or

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 ● A minister, priest, rabbi, or clergyperson of any
religious denomination or sect to which the patient
is an adherent.
The bill would prohibit patient care facilities from
receiving in-person visitation from one or more individuals at
a time. The bill would also establish that a patient may refuse
in-person visitation or revoke previously granted in-person
visitation from any person at any time.

Patient Care Facilities
The bill would provide that patient care facilities may
establish visitation policies by September 1, 2024, including,
but not limited to, infection control protocols and education for
visitors, a set schedule of dates and times when visitation is
allowed, allowable visit length, and limits on number of
visitors.
Further, the bill would provide that visitation policies and
procedures must allow in-person visitations, unless the
patient objects, if the patient is:
● Terminally ill or receiving end-of-life care;
● Making one or more major medical decisions;
● Experiencing emotional distress or grieving the
recent loss of a friend or family member;
● Experiencing functional, cognitive, or nutritional
decline;
● Struggling with the change in environment at the
patient care facility after having previously lived
with such patient’s immediate family member;


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 ● Admitted to a medical care facility for childbirth,
including care related to a miscarriage or stillbirth;
or
● Under 18 years of age.
The bill would require visitation policies and procedures
to be provided to the patient care facility’s licensing agency at
the time of initial licensure, renewal, or at any time upon
request and be easily accessible from the home page of the
patient care facility’s website.
The bill would specify that visitation policies and
procedures cannot contain more stringent infection control
protocols for visitors than for employees of the patient care
facility who are providing direct care to patients.
The bill would establish that a patient care facility may:
● Adopt visitation policies and procedures that are
more stringent for intensive or critical care units;
● Modify visitation based on a patient’s condition or
need for rest;
● Require a visitor to agree in writing to follow the
facility’s policies and procedures;
● Temporarily suspend a visitor’s in-person visitation
if such visitor violates the facility’s policies and
procedures;
● Revoke a visitor’s in-person visitation if such visitor
repeatedly violates the facility’s policies and
procedures or displays any violent or aggressive
behavior; or
● Require a visitor to adhere to infection control
procedures, including wearing personal protective
equipment.

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 The bill would also specify that the Department of Health
and Environment is required to publish an explanation of
visitation requirements and a link for individuals to report
complaints alleging violations by a patient care facility on its
website.
The bill would provide civil liability immunity for damages
to the patient care facility except in cases of gross negligence
or willful, wanton, or reckless conduct.
The bill would not supersede any federal law, rules,
regulations, or guidance regarding patient care facilities or
prohibit a patient care facility from taking actions necessary to
ensure eligibility with federal programs or financial
participation and reimbursement for services provided in the
patient care facility.

Background
The bill was introduced in the House Committee on
Health and Human Services at the request of Representative
Eplee. [Note: A similar bill, SB 352, has been introduced in
the Senate.]

House Committee on Health and Human Services
In the House Committee hearing on February 6, 2024, a
private citizen who practices in the medical community and
representatives of the Kansas Medical Society and
LeadingAge Kansas provided proponent testimony, stating
generally that the bill addresses the individual needs of
patient care facilities and ensures visitation for patients
receiving end-of-life care.
Written-only proponent testimony was received from a
representative of Meadowlark Hospice.


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 Written-only neutral testimony was provided by
representatives of the Kansas Hospital Association and
Mountain Region CommonSpirit Health.
The House Committee amended the bill to:
● Insert clarifying language for patient care facility
visitation requirements to specify such restrictions
would be for instances when these facilities
provide end-of-life care;
● Remove the two individual limit for in-person
visitors at a time for patients;
● Specify that the link on the Department of Health
and Environment website is for individuals to report
complaints alleging violations of the visitation
policies; and
● Insert language for the term “patient” to clarify that
a patient would mean an individual receiving end-
of-life care at a patient care facility.
Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget, on the bill, as introduced, the Kansas Department
of Health and Environment and the Kansas Department for
Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) indicate the bill would
have no fiscal effect on the agencies. KDADS’ regulatory role
for adult care homes, subject to federal regulation, would
continue under the provisions of the bill. If the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) imposes a
requirement for infection control procedures or limits on
visitation for all Medicaid and Medicare providers, those
federal mandates would supersede the requirements in the
bill as a condition of participation for payment. KDADS would
survey and enforce the federal requirements under its
agreement with CMS.
Patient care facilities; in-person visits; patient; end-of-life; terminally ill; visitation
policies

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