HB 10-1025: Colorado Medical Treatment Decision Act Updates

• Repeals and reenacts Article 18 of Title 15 to comprehensively update the Colorado Medical Treatment Decision Act governing end-of-life medical decisions.

• Allows adults with decisional capacity to execute written declarations directing that life-sustaining procedures be withheld or withdrawn if they develop a terminal condition or persistent vegetative state and lose capacity to make decisions.

• Permits declarations to include separate provisions regarding artificial nutrition and hydration, with options to refuse continuation, continue for a specified period, or continue indefinitely; also allows inclusion of organ donation decisions and medical powers of attorney.

• Requires certification by two physicians that a patient has a terminal condition or is in a persistent vegetative state before life-sustaining procedures can be withheld or withdrawn, with 48-hour notice period to designated family members or agents before implementation.

• Establishes criminal penalties for concealing, damaging, falsifying, or forging declarations (Class 1-2 misdemeanors and felonies) and requires physicians or advanced practice nurses to transfer patients to willing providers if they refuse to comply with valid declarations.