Substitute House Bill 470 Summary

• Establishes exemption from certificate of need requirements for nursing homes adding up to 20 long-term care beds exclusively for palliative care, if the home is unlicensed and does not participate in Medicare or Medicaid.

• Requires hospitals to offer patients age 55+ the opportunity to designate a lay caregiver, record caregiver information, obtain consent to share medical information, and include caregiver in discharge planning when appropriate.

• Creates new felony offense of "assisting suicide" (third degree felony) for knowingly providing physical means or participating in physical acts that cause another person to commit or attempt suicide.

• Clarifies that palliative care and comfort care provisions are not affected by suicide assistance prohibitions, and protects healthcare professionals providing pain management from prosecution.

• Directs Director of Aging and Director of Health to jointly develop recommendations for memory care unit standards, procedures, and quality-of-care metrics within six months.