The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a press release this week to give added support to The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Conditions of Participation (COP) rules released in November of last year giving patients the right to choose their own visitors during a hospital stay.

The guidance given by the HHS emphasizes that hospitals should respect patients’ wishes concerning their representatives (whether expressed in writing, orally, or through other evidence unless prohibited by state law) in an effort to make it easier for family members, including a same-sex domestic partner, to make informed care decisions for loved ones who are incapacitated.

Read the full press release here.

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