Visitation rights...

[Jeremy+3]

So as you know Obama has changed visitation rights in American hospitals, however I have a question that I feel a large proportion of our members could answer for me. Within the new visitation regulations it has been seen that these new regulations only include hospitals that have medicare/medicaid funds.
So, my query is, how many hospitals don't have to adhere to these new regulations? I'm struggling to find the info myself.

 

[Firefly4698]

Jeremy, I am not familar with these new regulations. Can you shed a little light on it, for those of us who are not so in the know?

 

[Jeremy+3]

Here you are.

 

[bssage]

The general rule is that people in critical care or similar restricted area's are limited to immediate family visits. It's pretty common in the hospitals I have been in. I believe the rest allows a same sex couple that (for example) lived in a state without sanctioned same sex marriage. To be able to designate their partner as a manager of a living will. Again I can see how this would be a fairly common problem. In a nutshell it think its a attempt to give same sex couples the same rights as hetro couples. Their is probably a need for this in many places. Obviously I dont know for a fact, as I am married to my wife.

To answer I would say most or many do not currently adhere to the new reg's.

 

[Jordy]

I'm not in america so i wouldn't know but from what bssage said. the rules are pretty similar here

 

[Firefly4698]

Thanks for posting the info, I hadn't heard about it. That is very interesting. I would think that this law would apply to everyone and every hospital, that would make sense to me, but I am not sure. Obviously, this is just my opinion because I just learned about the situation!

 

[IADad]

There aren't many hospitals willing to write off getting any medicare or medicaid funding (especially medicare, if they stopped acceptin mediare, they might as well stop admitting age 65+, which would be pretty much death for most hospitals) so adoption of the policy is going to be pretty much universal.

The thing I still don't understand about the order, is how the president can make an executive order that would appear to supercede state law. If a state has a law that disctates who can or can't make care decisions, then a federal executive order doesn't necessarily superced that does it? I get that he's using the money as the compliance hook, but there's going to be a fight between a gay partner and patient's reltive over a decision made on their behalf, mark my words this is setting up a fight.

 

[bssage]

Oh yeah I'm sure the cheering and booing going on right now. But I think this may level the playing field a little.