College-Bound (Grand)Child? Don’t forget to have them complete this form!

Hint: It’s even more important than the FAFSA!

A young woman goes to college. Two months later she is rushed to the hospital and into the operating room for an emergency appendectomy. Her mother calls the hospital in a panic and asks to know what is happening with her daughter. The hospital says, “I’m sorry; I cannot give you that information.” She says, “But I’m her mother!” The response: “That doesn’t matter. For all of our adult patients, we can only give information to those authorized to receive it, and you are not authorized.”  
 
You know the importance of having a Power of Attorney for Healthcare (aka healthcare proxy) for yourself, listing who can make medical treatment decisions if you are unconscious or incapable of making those decisions. You may also be aware HIPAA forms, which you regularly fill out at the doctor’s office during appointments, detail who can have access to your medical records.  
 
What you may not realize is that your kids need these documents in place as soon as they turn 18. At 18 they are legal adults, and no one gets access to their medical records or treatment information without express permission. 

 It’s easy to envision how this could go wrong in several ways so to avoid nightmare scenarios, take the following steps: 

1. Take care of yourself, first! Be sure you have a current Power of Attorney for Healthcare, listing a trusted person and at least one alternate in case the designee cannot serve. Also, be sure when you update your HIPAA forms with your doctor, you include the same trusted people and perhaps other family members as well.
   
   
2. As soon as your children turn 18, be sure these now-adults (yikes!) have a Power of Attorney for Healthcare, too. Encourage them to name you—their parents—as their healthcare proxies and have them fill out the HIPAA forms at their doctor’s office. Most states created a simple, fillable health care directive form perfect for this situation! You can search for your state’s form here: Free Advance Directive Forms by State from AARP
   
   
3. When your now-adult children go to college, have them fill out a HIPAA form at the Student Health Service and at the hospital in the town, listing you as their parents and perhaps other trusted family members as people who can have access to medical records. 

 If the aforementioned young woman had these documents in place, her panicked mother would have been given full access to her medical records and the details of her situation. She would also have had the right to make treatment decisions on her behalf while she was unconscious and unable to make them herself. 

In the rush and excitement of selecting schools, registering for classes and shopping for dorm room supplies, a Power of Attorney for Healthcare could understandably be missed. However, given the state of our healthcare system, you and your family members need to take control of assuring who has access to medical information and the right to make treatment decisions.  

We wish your new freshman a safe and rewarding college experience and are happy to help you (or them) with this important form. Call anytime!  

Disclosures: 

Apella Capital, LLC (“Apella”), DBA Apella Wealth is an investment advisory firm registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm only transacts business in states where it is properly registered or excluded or exempt from registration requirements. Registration with the SEC or any state securities authority does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, product or any non-investment-related content made reference to directly or indirectly in this material will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may not be reflective of current opinions or positions. Please note the material is provided for educational and background use only. Diversification seeks to improve performance by spreading your investment dollars into various asset classes to add balance to your portfolio. Using this methodology, however, does not guarantee a profit or protection from loss in a declining market. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All data is from sources believed to be reliable but cannot be guaranteed or warranted.   

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