Alabama 2023 Regular Session

Alabama Senate Bill SB208 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	SB208INTRODUCED
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3	3	4LUTR3-1
4	4	By Senators Price, Gudger, Williams, Scofield, Livingston,
5	5	Givhan, Melson, Barfoot, Elliott, Allen, Jones, Orr, Hovey,
6	6	Carnley, Chambliss, Hatcher, Coleman-Madison, Kelley, Bell,
7	7	Figures, Stewart, Chesteen, Sessions, Weaver, Singleton,
8	8	Waggoner
9	9	RFD: Healthcare
10	10	First Read: 12-Apr-23
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19	19	9 4LUTR3-1 04/06/2023 JC (L) tgw 2023-1405
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21	21	SYNOPSIS:
22	22	This bill would prohibit discrimination against
23	23	an individual from receiving an organ transplant based
24	24	on the individual having a disability.
25	25	This bill would also require health care
26	26	practitioners, hospitals and other health care
27	27	facilities, and organ transplant centers to provide
28	28	reasonable accommodations to an individual with a
29	29	disability in medical need of an anatomical gift or
30	30	organ transplant.
31	31	A BILL
32	32	TO BE ENTITLED
33	33	AN ACT
34	34	Relating to health care; to prohibit discrimination
35	35	against an individual with a disability in receiving an
36	36	anatomical gift or organ transplant based on his or her
37	37	disability; and to require health care providers and organ
38	38	transplant centers to provide reasonable accommodations to
39	39	individuals with a disability in medical need of an anatomical
40	40	gift or organ transplant.
41	41	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
42	42	Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as
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72	72	Exton's Law.
73	73	Section 2. The Legislature finds all of the following:
74	74	(1) A mental or physical disability does not diminish
75	75	an individual's right to health care.
76	76	(2) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
77	77	prohibits discrimination against individuals with
78	78	disabilities, yet many individuals with disabilities still
79	79	experience discrimination in accessing critical health care
80	80	services.
81	81	(3) Historically, individuals with mental and physical
82	82	disabilities have been denied life-saving organ transplants
83	83	based on assumptions that their lives are less worthy, that
84	84	they are incapable of complying with post-transplant medical
85	85	regimens, or that they lack adequate support systems to ensure
86	86	compliance.
87	87	(4) Although organ transplant centers must consider
88	88	medical and psychosocial criteria when determining if a
89	89	patient is suitable to receive an organ transplant, transplant
90	90	centers that participate in Medicare, Medicaid, and other
91	91	federal funding programs are required to use patient selection
92	92	criteria that result in a fair and nondiscriminatory
93	93	distribution of organs.
94	94	(5) Alabama residents in need of organ transplants are
95	95	entitled to assurances that they will not encounter
96	96	discrimination on the basis of a disability.
97	97	Section 3. As used in this act, the following terms
98	98	have the following meanings:
99	99	(1) ANATOMICAL GIFT. The donation of all or part of a
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129	129	human body to take effect after the donor's death for the
130	130	purpose of transplantation or transfusion.
131	131	(2) AUXILIARY AIDS AND SERVICES. Reasonable
132	132	accomodations that include the following:
133	133	a. Qualified interpreters or other effective methods of
134	134	making aurally delivered materials available to individuals
135	135	with hearing impairments.
136	136	b. Qualified readers, taped texts, or other effective
137	137	methods of making visually delivered material available to
138	138	individuals with visual impairments.
139	139	c. Acquisition or modification of equipment or devices.
140	140	d. Any other aid or service that is used to provide
141	141	information in a format that is easily understandable and
142	142	accessible to individuals with cognitive, neurological,
143	143	developmental, or intellectual disabilities.
144	144	(3) COVERED ENTITY. Any of the following:
145	145	a. A health care provider licensed under Title 34, Code
146	146	of Alabama 1975.
147	147	b. A health care facility licensed under Chapter 21 of
148	148	Title 22, Code of Alabama 1975.
149	149	c. An entity responsible for matching anatomical gift
150	150	donors to potential recipients.
151	151	(4) DISABILITY. The definition as provided in 42 U.S.C.
152	152	§ 12102.
153	153	(5) ORGAN TRANSPLANT. The transplantation or
154	154	transfusion of a part of a human body into the body of another
155	155	for the purpose of treating or curing a medical condition.
156	156	(6) QUALIFIED INDIVIDUAL. An individual with a
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186	186	disability who meets the essential eligibility requirements
187	187	for the receipt of an anatomical gift, with or without any of
188	188	the following:
189	189	a. A support network available to the individual.
190	190	b. The provision of auxiliary aids and services.
191	191	c. Access to a covered entity that has made reasonable
192	192	modifications to its policies or practices, including
193	193	modifications to allow both of the following:
194	194	1. Communication with individuals responsible for
195	195	supporting the individual with post-surgical and
196	196	post-transplantation care, including medication.
197	197	2. The consideration of a support network available to
198	198	the individual, including family, friends, and home-based and
199	199	community-based services funded through Medicaid, Medicare, or
200	200	another health plan in which the individual is enrolled, or
201	201	any program or source of funding available to the individual,
202	202	in determining whether the individual is able to comply with
203	203	post-transplantation medical requirements.
204	204	(7) SUPPORTED DECISION-MAKING. The reasonable
205	205	accommodation of a support person or persons to assist an
206	206	individual in making medical decisions, communicate
207	207	information to the individual, or ascertain an individual's
208	208	wishes, including the following:
209	209	a. The individual's parent, court-appointed guardian,
210	210	legal custodian, attorney-in-fact, or designated health care
211	211	proxy.
212	212	b. Consistent with the Health Insurance Portability and
213	213	Accountability Act of 1996, and other applicable laws, rules,
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243	243	and regulations governing the disclosure of health
244	244	information:
245	245	1. A person selected by the individual.
246	246	2. A person provided by the covered entity.
247	247	Section 4. (a) A covered entity may not do any of the
248	248	following based solely on a qualified individual's disability:
249	249	(1) Consider an individual ineligible to receive an
250	250	anatomical gift or organ transplant.
251	251	(2) Deny medical and other services related to
252	252	transplantation, including evaluation, surgery, counseling,
253	253	and post-transplantation treatment and services.
254	254	(3) Refuse to refer the individual to a transplant
255	255	center or other related specialist for the purpose of
256	256	evaluation or receipt of an anatomical gift or organ
257	257	transplant.
258	258	(4) Refuse to place an individual on an organ
259	259	transplant waiting list.
260	260	(5) Place the individual at a lower priority position
261	261	on the list than the position at which he or she would have
262	262	been placed if not for his or her disability.
263	263	(6) Decline insurance coverage for any procedure
264	264	associated with the receipt of the anatomical gift or organ
265	265	transplant, including post-transplantation care.
266	266	(b)(1) Notwithstanding subsection (a), a covered entity
267	267	may take a qualified individual's disability into account when
268	268	making treatment or coverage recommendations or decisions,
269	269	solely to the extent that the disability has been found by a
270	270	physician, following an individualized evaluation of the
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300	300	individual, to be medically significant to the provision of
301	301	the anatomical gift or organ transplant.
302	302	(2) If a qualified individual has the necessary support
303	303	system to assist the individual in complying with
304	304	post-transplantation medical requirements, a covered entity
305	305	may not consider the individual's inability to independently
306	306	comply with the post-transplantation medical requirements to
307	307	be medically significant for the purposes of subdivision (1).
308	308	(c) A covered entity shall make reasonable
309	309	modifications in policies, practices, or procedures, when the
310	310	modifications are necessary to allow a qualified individual
311	311	access to services, including transplantation-related
312	312	counseling, information, coverage, or treatment, unless the
313	313	covered entity can demonstrate that making the modifications
314	314	would fundamentally alter the nature of the services being
315	315	offered or result in an undue burden.
316	316	(d) A covered entity shall implement auxiliary aids and
317	317	services and supported decision-making services as necessary
318	318	to ensure that a qualified individual is not denied services,
319	319	including transplantation-related counseling, information,
320	320	coverage, or treatment, unless the covered entity can
321	321	demonstrate that implementation of the accommodations would
322	322	fundamentally alter the nature of the services being offered
323	323	or would result in an undue burden.
324	324	Section 5. This act shall become effective on the first
325	325	day of the third month following its passage and approval by
326	326	the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.
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