NY S08835

Requires mandatory mental health professional evaluation for all patients seeking medical aid-in-dying medication, rather than only when physicians suspect the patient may lack decision-making capacity

Allows attending physicians to conduct patient examinations via telehealth instead of in-person when requiring travel would cause "extraordinary hardship" including undue pain, suffering, or extraordinary expense for medically-necessary transportation

Establishes a 5-day waiting period between when a prescription is written and when it can be filled, unless the physician determines the patient may die before the waiting period expires

Expands restrictions on who may serve as witnesses to include anyone who would benefit financially from the patient's death, and extends health care facility medication prohibitions to affiliated facilities under the same corporate ownership

Delays the effective date of the underlying medical aid-in-dying law (S.138/A.136 from 2025) from immediate effect to 180 days after becoming law, with authorization for emergency rulemaking