As New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act is about to take effect, questions remain about access

BUFFALO, N.Y. — New York's Medical Aid in Dying Act takes effect Aug. 5. As hospitals and healthcare providers develop their policies, access may vary across New York. Here's what patients and families should know.

For more than a decade, Scott Baracco shared the story of his late partner Cathy Quinn, urging lawmakers to give terminally ill New Yorkers another end-of-life option. By next week, that option becomes legal.

“Her final weeks and months would have been completely different," said Baracco. "It would have allowed her to concentrate on living the end of her life the way she wanted to rather than trying to figure out how she was going to escape the suffering.”

Under the MAID Act, mentally capable adults with a terminal illness and a prognosis of six months or less can request medication to peacefully end their lives, an option Quinn wasn’t afforded.

“This is a huge step getting it passed, and having it implemented, that’s worth celebrating," said Baracco. "But the reality of the accessibility of it is still a challenge.”

Since participation is voluntary, access to Medical Aid in Dying may depend on where patients receive their care, and whether their medical provider is willing to participate.

“Now that it’s legal, the next step is making sure it’s practical and accessible and available, because if it’s legal and it’s not available, that’s not much help," said Baracco.

With the law going into effect next week, healthcare providers are developing policies, educating staff, and deciding what implementation will look like for patients and families. Vice president of clinical education and patient advocacy at Buffalo Hospice & Palliative Care, Kelley Clem, said questions remain about who will participate.

“There’s a huge concern across the state about who is going to actually participate," said Clem.

While the law gives eligible patients a new option, it doesn’t require physicians or hospitals to participate. Buffalo Hospice & Palliative Care CEO and Medical Chief Officer Christopher Kerr said it could mean patients have to travel for care.

“The question of how many and how accessible is yet to be determined, but there certainly will be people," said Kerr. "The question is, will people have to geographically go somewhere because it’s not provided locally.”

Leaders with local health systems like Kaleida Health said they’re reviewing the new law and are awaiting guidance from the New York State Department of Health.

"Kaleida Health, like many healthcare providers across New York, is eagerly awaiting guidance from the Department of Health on this new law in order to best determine how we could comply," said Kaleida Health Director of Communications Jacquiline A. Bett.

“The good news is that there are educational hoops that it can’t just be a doctor that decides, ‘Yeah, I want to do this," said Clem. "So there are going to be hoops that they’re going to need to jump through. But the jury is still out on how many are going to participate.”

For Baracco, the law represents the end of a decade-long fight.

“We both became these compassionate advocates for Medical Aid in Dying, and she wanted it to get passed, and I told her I would try," said Baracco. "And my solution to this was just to share my story with anybody who would listen, and now that it’s being implemented, we’re going to make it known and make it available.”