Obama extends hospital visitation to gay partners

[Gona_bea_nurse]

a long time coming.

http://www.courier-journal.com/artic...344/1008/rss01

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama mandated Thursday that hospitals extend visitation rights to the partners of gay men and lesbians and allow same-sex couples to share medical power of attorney, perhaps the most significant step so far in his efforts to expand the rights of gay Americans.

The president directed the Department of Health and Human Services to prohibit discrimination in hospital visitation in a memo that was e-mailed to reporters Thursday night.

Administration officials and gay activists said the new rules will affect any hospital that receives Medicare or Medicaid funding — the vast majority of the nation's health-care institutions.

Many hospitals now allow only those related by blood or marriage to visit patients.

“Discrimination touches every facet of the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, including at times of crisis and illness, when we need our loved ones with us more than ever,” Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in praising the decision.

In his first 15 months in office, Obama has hailed the passage of hate crime legislation and held the first Gay Pride Day celebration at the White House.

Last month, Obama's top military and defense officials testified before Congress in favor of repealing of the “don't ask, don't tell” policy for gays in the armed forces.

But the moves have been too slow for some seeking equal rights for gays.

Other gay rights activists have defended the administration for doing what it can, while at the same time pushing Congress to act on broader issues such as passage of an employment non-discrimination act and an end to the ban on gays serving openly in the military.

Obama's memo to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius orders new rules that would ensure that hospitals “respect the rights of patients to designate visitors.”

The new rules do not apply only to gays. They also affect widows and widowers who have found themselves unable to receive visits from a friend or companion.

And they would allow members of some religious orders to designate someone other than a family member to make medical decisions.

[dakotaj70]

More smoke and mirrors. I don't know of any hospital that would take on the liability of not allowing a partner visitation rights unless the family said expressly not to allow it.

What the heck are they focusing on? Gay rights are our biggest problem right now? Not jobs, security or debt? Could be why we are so screwed up right now. Killing me.

[copperrose]

Can a partner sign consent forms? Can a partner visit in the ICU? Some hospitals say close family members only. Consents for procedures say "Next of Kin" What if NOK won't speak to them because they are gay? Had a good friend whose partner sat with him in the ICU when he had brain surgery but my friend's sister had to give her permission for the partner to do so. The same friend came to visit me when I was in the hospital and the nurse almost didn't let them in to see me. The nurse said "there are two um.(cough, cough throat clearing) guys to see you. Do you want them to come in?
You can't say that people have to approve of someone's lifestyle but you can let the most important person in their lives make decisions for them.

[reesern1963]

More smoke and mirrors. I don't know of any hospital that would take on the liability of not allowing a partner visitation rights unless the family said expressly not to allow it.

What the heck are they focusing on? Gay rights are our biggest problem right now? Not jobs, security or debt? Could be why we are so screwed up right now. Killing me.

Apparently, it is a problem. There already have been cases where partners were not allowed access to dying loved ones. Maybe in your world it doesn't happen, but that doesn't mean other areas are as enlightened.

Someone does something good for others and you stab them in the back. Nice.

[copperrose]

I've seen partners be more caring and concerned than spouses. A woman who hates her chronically ill husband can come and sit with him for an hour and leave but a gay partner who gives the pt. a bath, brings his favorite food and coordinates care with you can't sign permits and visits are limited in the ICU. If the legal NOK doesn't want the partner to see the pt., the NOK rules. There are still people who don't like the partners, don't want their loved one to be gay etc. I have a friend whose partner of 12 years is not allowed in her parents home. Who signs for things if my friend is in the hospital?

[millrat7]

And there is the case of the woman who had a heart transplant that went sour based on the premise that her "husband" had health insurance. Only, came to find he was not, in fact, her legal husband, so the hospital ended up swallowing $2M in costs. If you want to visit, lie and say you're related. It's not as though we match DNA samples. I guess it shows that most people try to be honest, and that many people still think GLBT is a choice, not nature.

[Gona_bea_nurse]

Sonoma County Separated Elderly Gay Couple, Sold Off All Belongings

http://nclrights.wordpress.com/2010/...ll-belongings/

It happens, someone should sue for them.

[Westcoastrn]

I read that story. I live out here on the west coast and I think that sonoma county treats everyone that way. They don't care if you are gay or not. They just want your stuff so they can sell it

I've seen them do it before.

[Gona_bea_nurse]

spend it all for you get old, we put our grandfathers property in the kids name so government couldn't take it.

[Westcoastrn]

It's not just their money. It's their stuff too. They use social services to get into the home and take a look around. Then they put them in homes just like they did to these old guys and confiscate their stuff and sell it. You can't spend your stuff.

[Qinasa]

I am agree with you westcoastrn. Thanks !

[erinleighhartman]

Long time coming indeed. Thanks for posting!