Senate Bill 578 aims to simplify the admission process for incapacitated individuals transitioning from hospitals to nursing homes or community-based residential facilities. The bill allows a patient's representative to consent to such admissions without the need for a petition for guardianship or protective placement, provided the individual is admitted directly from a hospital inpatient unit, the facility notifies the county's corporation counsel within 72 hours, and the representative signs a declaration affirming their authority to make health care decisions. The bill also removes certain time limitations on the representative's authority to make health care decisions and enroll the individual in the Medical Assistance program, contingent upon specific conditions being met.

Additionally, the bill updates the definition of "incapacitated" and expands the qualifications for determining incapacity to include advanced practice clinicians. It requires a written statement documenting the incapacity determination to be included in the individual's health care records and sent to relevant county agencies within 72 hours of admission. The authority of a patient's representative to consent to admissions will expire three years after the bill's effective date, and the representative cannot authorize health care expenditures if a durable power of attorney exists for the incapacitated individual. The bill also modifies existing statutes to extend the authorization for expenditures by 30 days and introduces a new section allowing representatives to consent to admissions without filing a petition, provided certain conditions are met.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text: 50.06(2)(b), 50.06, 50.06(2)(c), 50.06(5)(a)(intro.), 50.06(5)(b), 50.06(6), 50.06(7)