SB 1123

SENATE BILL NO. 1123
A bill to amend 1976 PA 220, entitled
"Persons with disabilities civil rights act,"
(MCL 37.1101 to 37.1607) by adding section 302a.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 302a. (1) A
health facility shall not discriminate against a person with a disability with
regard to that person's medical treatment. Discrimination under this section
includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:
(a) Basing the allocation or withdrawal of any good, benefit, or service
on the person's disability.
(b) Denying or limiting medical treatment to the person if the denial or
limitation is based on any of the following:
(i) A bias or
stereotype about the person's disability.
(ii) A judgment that
the person will be a burden on others, including, but not limited to,
caregivers, family members, or society, due to the person's disability.
(iii) A belief that
the life of the person has lesser value than the life of a person without a
disability, or that life with a disability is not worth living.
(iv) Assumed
remaining life years or quality-adjusted life years, regardless of whether the
basis is supported by medical evidence.
(c) If the person or the person's authorized representative seeks or
consents to treatment for a diagnosable symptom or medical condition separate
from the person's disability, regardless of whether the symptom or condition is
a disability or is causally connected to the person's underlying disability,
denying or limiting clinically appropriate treatment if the health facility
would offer the treatment to a similarly situated person without an underlying
disability.
(d) Providing a medical treatment to the person based on the person's
disability if the health facility would not provide the same treatment to a
person without a disability, unless the person's disability affects the
effectiveness or ease of administration of the treatment or has a medical
effect on the condition to which the treatment is directed.
(2) A
health facility shall ensure that a person with a disability receives both of
the following:
(a) A
reasonable accommodation or modification, if the accommodation or modification
is necessary to provide the person full enjoyment of a medical treatment.
(b) Access
to visitation and advocacy assistance of the person's choice if it is safe to
do so and not prohibited under law or an emergency or executive order.
(3) This
section does not do any of the following:
(a) Require
a health facility to provide a medical treatment to a person with a disability
if the health facility has a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason to deny or
limit the medical treatment or if the person's disability causes the person to
be unqualified for treatment. The bases described in subsection (1)(b) are not
legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons to deny or limit medical treatment and
may not be a basis for a determination that a person with a disability is not
qualified for treatment or that a treatment is not clinically appropriate for
that person. Circumstances in which a health facility may deny or limit
treatment under this subdivision include, but are not limited to, both of the
following:
(i) The health facility declines to provide the same medical
treatment to any person.
(ii) The health facility reasonably determines based on
current medical knowledge or the best available objective evidence that the
medical treatment is not clinically appropriate for a particular person.
(b) Require
a health facility to provide a medical treatment to a person with a disability
if that person or the person's authorized representative does not consent to
the medical treatment.
(c) Allow a
health facility to discriminate against a person with a disability on the basis
of a disability in seeking to obtain consent from that person or the person's
authorized representative to allow the health facility to provide, withhold, or
withdraw treatment.
(d) Prohibit
a health facility from providing a person with a disability or the person's
authorized representative with information regarding the implications of
different courses of medical treatment based on current medical knowledge or
the best available objective evidence.
(4) Except
as otherwise provided under subsection (2)(b), this section applies regardless
of whether there is a public health emergency.
(5) As used
in this section:
(a)
"Health facility" means a health facility or agency licensed under
article 17 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.20101 to 333.22260,
or any other organized entity where a health care provider provides health care
to patients.
(b)
"Public health emergency" includes, but is not limited to, all of the
following:
(i) A state of disaster or state of emergency declared under
the emergency management act, 1976 PA 390, MCL 30.401 to 30.421.
(ii) The time period during which an emergency order under
section 2253 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MLC 333.2253, is in effect.
(iii) A global pandemic declared by the World Health
Organization.