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Make your wishes known
Make your wishes known
Sometimes people can’t make health care choices for themselves. This may happen due to an accident or serious illness.
You have the right to tell others what you would want to happen in this case. You can:
- Request health care you do want
- Refuse health care you don’t want
Legal documents can give your directions in advance. They’re called advance directives. If you want to have an advance directive, you can find forms on this page or from:
- Your lawyer
- A social worker
- Some office supply stores
- Some community organizations that share info on Medicare
Types of advance directives
A living will is a legal document. It tells others your wishes for treatments that may keep you alive. These might include:
- Breathing machines
- Tube feeding: artificial foods and fluids
- Resuscitation: a treatment to return your heart to a normal rhythm if your breathing or heartbeat stops
- Dialysis: a treatment to replace the work kidneys do if your kidneys aren’t working
You can choose to accept or refuse this type of care before you need it. You just need to write it into your living will.
A living will may also tell others if you want to be an organ donor.
Visit the Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry to learn more.
A health care POA is a legal document. It names your health care proxy. This is a person you trust to make health care choices for you if you can’t.
Health care providers may call this a durable POA. This is different from a financial POA.
Visit the Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry to learn more.
A mental health care POA form is a legal document. It names a person to make mental health care choices for you if you can’t.
Visit the Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry to learn more.
A pre-hospital medical directive is a legal document. It’s also called a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) form. It states your wish to refuse some life-saving emergency care. This is care you might get outside a hospital or in a hospital emergency room.
Visit the Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry to learn more.
You’ll need to choose someone to be your agent for these documents:
- Living will
- Health care power of attorney
Your agent is the person who’ll make decisions about your health care if you can’t. They can be a family member or a close friend.
In Arizona, you must:
- Sign and date your advance directive in front of another person who also signs it. This person cannot be:
- Related to you by blood, marriage or adoption
- Under 18
- Someone with the right to receive any of your estate (personal and private property) by will or under law at the signature time
- Appointed as your agent
- Involved with paying for or providing any of your health care
- Designated (chosen) to make medical decisions on your behalf
OR
- Sign and date your advance directive in front of a notary public. This can't be your agent or any person involved with the paying for your health care.
Filing an advance directive
Letting your loved ones know your wishes is a good first step. The next step is to file your advance directives. It’s how you make sure all Arizona providers know your wishes, too.
Go to the Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry to file your advance directives. And check their FAQs for more info.
These documents aren’t legal opinions. Review your advance directives with a lawyer to make sure they’re correct.
- Keep your original signed papers in a safe place.
- Give copies of the signed papers to your doctor(s), hospital and anyone else who might get involved in your health care. Talk to these people about your health care wishes.
- Need to change your papers after you signed them? You’ll need to complete new papers. Be sure you give the new copy to all the people who have the old copy.
Learn more about life care planning
Visit our community resource page to learn more about advance directives. Check the links under life care planning.
Not yet a member?
Learn about becoming a member in Mercy Care Medicaid plans or Mercy Care Advantage.
Learn about becoming a member in Mercy Care Medicaid plans or Mercy Care Advantage.