Questions about US health care, medical power of attorney, living wills etc for my ds

[lewelma]

We are in NZ.  I have not lived in the USA in 25 years, and I know that things have changed.  My ds intends to return to university in late August and I need to make sure all the health care issues have been planned out.  He has US coverage through his university which I understand is pretty good and gives him access to Mass General, which I understand is a good hospital.  What I need to know is about stuff like HIPPA, medical power of attorney, living wills etc. which I would like in place for obvious reasons before we send him back to the USA.  My main concern is that if something goes wrong, no one can talk to the doctors.  How do we fix that? Do I need a lawyer? What does he need to sign?  Where do we get it and where do we file it?

Ruth in NZ

[Guest]

Does MIT have an office just for international students? It seems like they would have a good idea of what was needed. 

[Corraleno]

I know I had DS sign various HIPAA/FERPA docs when he first started as a freshman, and I think they were available somewhere on the university website, or at least accessible to him online when he was logged into his student account.

Also, I know that DS's uni offers a student legal plan, which costs $40/yr and you get free legal help for issues like problems with landlords, reviewing rental leases, help with traffic tickets, etc., and they will also prepare and notarize documents like wills, POAs, healthcare directives, etc. DS already had all those docs, but I know a lot of students there use them for that. At his school it's included in student fees and is an opt-out rather than opt-in thing, so I would check to see if MIT has a similar program and if your DS may be able to get all the docs he needs done for free (or cheap) as soon as he gets to campus.

Edited July 1, 2020 by Corraleno

[kbutton]

Laws will vary a bit by state, so he needs to have state-specific guidance. I hope the school offers something for you as that would be the easiest. 

One issue is where to keep the paperwork, who to give copies to that can be available pretty quickly, etc. 

 

[EKS]

When this was an issue with my older son, it seemed that each facility had their own form for him to sign that allowed them to talk directly to us.  That said, when he went to urgent care in MA (we are in WA), and they thought he had meningitis and were transporting him by ambulance to the ER, the doctor there talked to me at great length without the document in place.  I'm not sure if he told them it was ok--I doubt it since he was pretty out of it.