March 24, 2022
Legislation to create an advisory group to study and recommend how to initiate a statewide registry for Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) formsreceived strong bipartisan support in the House Health Finance and Policy Committee on March 18.
The bill, HF3360 (Rep. Kelly Morrison, MD, -DFL, Deephaven), is one of the MMA’s top legislative priorities for the session.
“As a physician, I want to do all that I can to ensure that my patient is involved in decision-making, especially at the end of their life,” testified MMA President Randy Rice, MD. “A POLST registry will help ensure that the patient’s important decisions are respected and followed by all healthcare providers.”
Rep. Kristen Bahner (DFL, Maple Gove) offered strong support, saying this bill offers seriously ill patients the dignity they deserve, and also eases the burdens and the worries of families.
Both Rep. John Huot (DFL, Rosemount) and Rep. Jeff Backer (R, Brown Valley) shared personal experiences working in emergency medical services where access to a statewide registry would have been helpful.
The Minnesota Ambulance Association also submitted written testimony in support noting “the ambulance industry has continued to struggle with a strong platform to track and access these important documents to provide our patients the opportunity to address their personal medical wishes. Especially during their end-of-life care.”
The committee chair, Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL, Rochester), offered her thoughts saying “how horrifying, to have made these decisions and have them not carried out. We could fix this problem.”
Morrison shared a personal story of a family member who had a POLST form which was misplaced and, as a result, was resuscitated against her wishes. She also thanked Rice for his testimony and Sen. Karin Housley (R, Stillwater), the companion bill author in the Senate.
The bill was laid over for inclusion in the Health Finance and Policy Committee omnibus bill. The bill has not received a hearing in the Senate yet.
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