HB194 Summary - Alex Hoover Act

• Authorizes parents or legal guardians of terminally ill or injured minors (birth to age 19) to execute an Order for Pediatric Palliative and End of Life (PPEL) Care directive in consultation with the minor's attending physician.

• Requires the Department of Public Health to adopt rules by March 31, 2019 establishing a standardized PPEL Care form, developed in consultation with a 24-member task force including medical professionals, hospital representatives, parents, and other stakeholders.

• Provides legal immunity to health care providers who in good faith provide, withhold, or withdraw medical treatment pursuant to a valid PPEL Care order, protecting them from criminal or civil liability and unprofessional conduct findings.

• Establishes that a "qualified minor" must have a terminal illness or injury diagnosis confirmed by at least one physician other than the attending physician; recognizes that minor's and representative's expressed wishes always supersede the PPEL Care order.

• Creates a temporary task force chaired by the State Health Officer with first meeting by June 1, 2018, automatically terminating when the PPEL Care form rules are adopted.