Bill description: SB 1262 would require all Idaho hospitals to offer training to designated patient caregivers.

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Does it give government any new, additional, or expanded power to prohibit, restrict, or regulate activities in the free market? Conversely, does it eliminate or reduce government intervention in the market? 


SB 1262, designated the Patient Caregiver Support Act, would establish a process that Idaho hospitals would have to follow in training caregivers, who provide care to patients after they are discharged from the hospital. Hospitals would first be required to determine if the patient or the patient’s representative wishes to designate a patient caregiver. If the patient would like to have a caregiver after discharge, the hospital would be responsible for developing a caregiver plan and providing “ individualized  explanations and in-person or video instructions about tasks the caregiver [would] need to carry out at home after discharge.”

Hospitals would not be able to determine on their own if this in-person or video training is the best procedure to take, but would instead be required under this act to do so, taking away from their ability to operate their organization in the best way they see fit.

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