New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act (“MAID Act”), introduced in the New York Senate in January 2025 and amended, in part, by the State Assembly in February 2026, will take effect on August 5, 2026, creating a new statutory pathway for qualifying terminally ill adults to request and self-administer medication to end their lives. The MAID Act is part of a broader national trend toward laws commonly referred to as “death with dignity” or “physician-assisted dying” laws.
The MAID Act imposes strict eligibility and procedural requirements that health care providers will need to evaluate and incorporate into their policies and workflows before participating in the process, including, but not limited to:
- Qualified Patients. Qualifying patients must be New York residents, at least 18 years of age, have decision-making capacity at the time of their request, be diagnosed with a terminal illness with a prognosis of six months or less to live, and be capable of self-administering the medication.
- Requests. Patients must make both oral and written requests for medication, with specific requirements imposed for both request forms.
- Mandatory Medical Examinations. Before a prescription may be written, the attending physician must conduct an in-person examination, obtain a consulting physician’s confirmation and arrange for a mental health evaluation to confirm the patient has capacity and is acting voluntarily.
- Waiting Period. Medication may not be dispensed until five days after it is prescribed.
New York joins a growing number of jurisdictions adopting medical aid-in-dying laws. As of June 2026, 14 states, including New York, have enacted death with dignity or similar legislation, and 16 additional states are considering similar legislation. This expanding state-law landscape underscores the importance of operational planning and provider education. Health systems should evaluate physician participation requirements and opt-out provisions, informed-consent procedures, medication-management protocols, documentation practices and workforce training needs before implementation to assess how these laws may affect organization policies, clinical workflows and responses to patient and provider inquiries.
Practical Takeaways
Because participation implicates clinical, pharmacy, documentation, workforce and compliance issues, health systems should consider the following steps before the MAID Act, or any similar state laws, take effect:
- Assess provider eligibility and organizational participation. Prior to the MAID Act’s effective date, determine whether the health system will participate in the medical aid-in-dying process, identify physicians who satisfy statutory eligibility requirements and establish clear guidelines for participating physicians, staff and affiliated providers. Health systems that choose not to participate should establish clear procedures for responding to patient inquiries, including any required notices, transfers, referrals or other patient-support obligations under applicable law.
- Develop and implement written policies and procedures. Establish clinical protocols that align with applicable state law and clearly address eligibility determinations and procedural compliance (i.e., required consultations, waiting periods, documentation requirements and prescription procedures).
- Assess medical record and documentation practices. Ensure systems are in place to document the oral and written requests, physician assessments, referrals, consultations and patient rescissions in compliance with applicable state law.
- Provide education and training. Ensure physicians, advanced practice providers, nursing staff, pharmacists, care coordinators and other affected personnel receive training regarding statutory requirements, organizational policies and compliance obligations.
- Stay ahead of state-law changes. Because medical aid-in-dying laws continue to evolve across the country, health systems should monitor developments in the states where they operate and in neighboring jurisdictions, and periodically evaluate whether existing policies and procedures remain compliant.
- Compliance monitoring. Consider adding MAID Act or other comparable state law compliance to your organization’s compliance risk assessment and compliance plan to ensure quality, operational and compliance controls are adequate and effective.
If you have questions or would like assistance evaluating the impact of such legislation on your organization and drafting and/or reviewing policies and forms, please contact:
- Katherine Kuchan at kkuchan@hallrender.com or (414) 721-0479;
- Megan Culp at mculp@hallrender.com or (317) 429-3644; or
- Your primary Hall Render contact.
Special thanks to Summer Associate Julia Hallauer for her assistance in the preparation of this article.
Hall Render blog posts and articles are intended for informational purposes only. For ethical reasons, Hall Render attorneys cannot—outside of an attorney-client relationship—answer specific questions that would be legal advice.
