Bill
HB 835
HB 835 creates Ohio’s formal MAID program, detailing who can request, how it’s prescribed, safeguards for patients and providers, and required annual reporting.
Jurisdiction: Ohio | Session: 136 | Introduced: 2025-2026 | Sponsor: Rep. Synenberg; Cosponsors: Lett, Rader, Somani
Purpose
- To authorize an individual with a terminal condition and the capacity to make health care decisions to request and obtain a prescription for an aid-in-dying medication (MAID) and to establish an Ohio-specific framework for medical aid in dying, including related reporting, eligibility, and procedural requirements.
- The bill marks the creation of the Ohio Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) Act, replacing or repealing existing related provisions in the Revised Code.
Key Provisions and Changes
1) Definitions and guiding concepts (Chapter 3793)
- Establishes defined terms for the MAID framework, including:
- Aid-in-dying medication
- Attending physician
- Consulting physician
- Qualified patient
- Self-administer
- Terminal condition
- Other terms related to informed decision-making, mental health assessment, and care settings
- Clarifies that an aid-in-dying death is not automatically treated as suicide or homicide for death certification purposes.
2) Eligibility and process for obtaining an MAID prescription (Chapter 3793)
- Eligible person:
- 18 years or older, a resident of Ohio
- Diagnosed with a terminal condition, with medical confirmation
- Ability to make and communicate health care decisions (with potential interpreter assistance)
- Voluntary and informed request to die
- Oral request requirements (two separate oral requests, separated by at least five days; potential shortened timeline if death within five days is likely)
- Written request for an aid-in-dying medication
- Written request form:
- Department of Health must provide a standardized form, adaptable to languages
- Written requests require two witnesses who confirm capacity, voluntariness, and lack of coercion; witnesses must meet exclusions (e.g., relatives, potential heirs, facility staff, or attending/consulting physicians)
- Mental health assessment:
- Optional or required if indicated by physician; can trigger a referral to a mental health professional
- Safeguards:
- Independent confirmation by consulting physician of the attending physician’s diagnosis and prognosis
- Verification of informed decision and voluntary action
- Documentation requirements in the medical record
- Right to rescind at any time
- Counseling on the importance of having another person present when taking the medication; advice against taking in public
3) Physician responsibilities (Chapter 3793)
- Attending physician duties:
- Assess terminal condition, decision-making capacity, voluntariness
- Ensure informed decision with disclosure of prognosis, risks, alternatives, and palliative care options
- Refer to consulting physician for medical confirmation
- Verify informed decision immediately prior to prescribing
- Inform the patient of no obligation to fill or self-administer the prescription
- Notify next of kin if desired; counsel on presence during ingestion
- Deliver prescription to patient or designated person or dispense directly (per patient choice and within law)
- Document comprehensive medical records
- Report annually to the Department of Health on demographic data, conditions, and whether self-administration occurred
- Deliveries and delivery options:
- Prescription and ancillary medications may be delivered in person, by mail, or electronic transmission
- Unused MAID medication must be disposed of properly after the patient’s death
4) Consulting physician and mental health assessments (Chapters 3793.06–3793.07)
- Consulting physician must examine the patient, confirm diagnosis and prognosis, assess decision-making capacity, and refer for mental health assessment if needed
- Mental health professionals conduct assessments to determine capacity and lack of impaired judgment; results submitted to attending/consulting physician
5) Safe-guards, restrictions, and protections (Chapters 3793.12–3793.16)
- Prohibitions on coercion or undue influence; prohibition on coercively conditioning care based on MAID requests
- Anti-discrimination protections for patients; related insurance and health plan communications limited to patient-initiated inquiries
- Prohibition on euthanasia or other forms of deliberate death outside the MAID process
- Provisions for providers who do not participate in MAID, including transfer of records within three business days upon request
- Participation policies allow health care facilities to set prohibitions but require notice to patients
6) Ownership, liability, and professional standards (Sections 3795.03–3795.04)
- Maintains existing standards of care and does not permit MAID to alter general care obligations or minimal standards of medical care
- Provisions for professional liability and good faith participation protections for providers
7) Post-death management and data collection (Sec. 3793.10–3793.11)
- Unused medication disposal requirements
- Annual reporting by the Department of Health beginning one year after the act’s effective date, including:
- Age, race/ethnicity, sex, hospice involvement
- Diagnosed conditions and MAID outcomes
- Number of prescriptions issued and physicians involved
8) Effective date
- Sections 1 and 2 (repeals and enactments) take effect six months after the act’s effective date.
- The bill is named the Ohio Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) Act upon enactment.
Who would be affected
- Qualified patients with terminal conditions seeking an aid-in-dying prescription
- Attending and consulting physicians, mental health professionals, and interpreters involved in the process
- Hospice programs and health care facilities, insurers, and health plan issuers
- Funeral directors and coroners in the context of death certification for MAID cases
- Ohio Department of Health, for rulemaking, data collection, and annual reporting
Timeline and procedural notes
- Eligibility and request process include an initial oral request, a second oral request after at least five days (unless a five-day death window applies), and a written request
- Mandatory mental health assessment if indicated
- Annual reporting by physicians to the Department of Health, starting one year after the act’s effective date
- Transfer of medical records to new care providers within three business days if care changes
Overall Assessment
- HB 835 creates a comprehensive MAID framework for Ohio, detailing eligibility, procedural safeguards, provider duties, documentation, and data reporting, while explicitly protecting patients, providers, and facilities from coercion and discrimination. If enacted, it would establish Ohio’s formal MAID program with regulatory oversight and ongoing public reporting.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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