Choosing Your Healthcare Agent

Suggestions for naming the right person to direct your medical care if you are unable to do so yourself.

A durable power of attorney for healthcare -- called a healthcare proxy in some states -- gives another person authority to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to make them for yourself. When you make a durable power of attorney for healthcare, the most important decision you will face is deciding who your healthcare agent should be. The person you choose should be someone you trust absolutely -- and someone with whom you feel confident discussing your wishes for medical care. Your agent need not agree with all of your wishes, but must completely respect your right to get the kind of treatment you want.

Important Factors to Consider

Your agent may be your spouse or partner, relative or close friend. Keep in mind that your agent may have to fight to assert your wishes in the face of a stubborn medical establishment -- and against the wishes of family members who may be driven by their own beliefs and interests, rather than yours. If you foresee the possibility of a conflict in enforcing your wishes, be sure to choose an agent who is strong-willed and assertive.

While you need not name someone who lives in the same city or state as you do, proximity can be critical. If you have a long illness, your agent may be called upon to spend weeks or even months nearby, making sure medical personnel abide by your wishes for healthcare.

If you make a durable power of attorney for finances to name someone to manage your finances in case you become incapacitated , it's usually wise to name the same person as both your agent for healthcare and your agent for finances. If you feel that you must name different people, be very sure you name agents who get along well and will be able to work together. You wouldn't, for example, want your agent for finances to interfere with your healthcare wishes by stalling or resisting payment of medical or insurance bills, two things over which your agent for finances will most likely have control.

Don't Name a Healthcare Provider as Your Agent
In almost all cases, your agent should not be your doctor or an employee of a hospital or nursing home where you receive treatment. In fact, the laws in many states prevent you from naming such a person to make decisions for you. In a few instances, this legal constraint may frustrate your wishes. For example, you may wish to name your spouse or partner as your representative, but if he or she works as a hospital employee, that alone may bar you from naming that person. Some states allow you to name a healthcare provider if that person is related to you, or if you and that person both work at the same healthcare institution, but not all legislatures have thought this far ahead. If the law in your state bans your first choice, you will have to name another person to serve.

Naming More Than One Agent

Though you are legally permitted to name more than one person to make healthcare decisions for you, you should name only one agent when you make your healthcare directives. This is true even if you know two or more people who are suitable candidates and who agree to undertake the job together. There may be problems, brought on by passing time and human nature, with naming people to share the job. In the critical time during which they would be overseeing your wishes and directing your care, they might disagree, rendering them ineffective as lobbyists on your behalf. Feuding agents could even end up settling their dispute in court, further delaying and confusing your care.

If you fear that those close to you may feel hurt if you name someone else to represent you, take some time to talk with them to explain your choice. Or, if there are several people you'd feel comfortable naming, you might even let them decide among themselves who the agent will be. If you approve of their choice, you can accept it -- and name the others as alternate agents in case your first choice can't serve.

Naming an Alternate Agent

You are permitted to name one or more alternate agents to represent you if your first choice is unable to take the job for any reason or resigns after your advance directive takes effect. Alternates serve one at a time, in the order that you specify.

It's a good idea to name at least one alternate agent, but you should be as thoughtful about naming your alternates as you are about picking your first choice: be sure to name people who will represent you well if the need arises.

If You Do Not Name a Healthcare Agent

If you don't know anyone you trust to oversee your medical care, it's not necessary to name an agent. In fact, it's better not to name anyone than to name someone who is not comfortable with the directions you leave -- or who is not likely to assert your wishes strongly.

But even if you don't name an agent, you should still complete a healthcare declaration, stating any wishes for medical care about which you feel strongly. Even without an agent, medical personnel are required to follow your written wishes for healthcare -- or to find someone who will care for you in the way you have directed. If you do not name a healthcare agent, be certain to discuss your wishes for medical care with a doctor or a hospital representative who is likely to be involved in providing that care.

Copyright 2004 Nolo

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