What is a Healthcare Agent?

A Healthcare Agent is someone who makes healthcare decisions for you if you are not able to make decisions for yourself. 

You can appoint a Healthcare Agent in the Medical Power of Attorney portion of your Advance Healthcare Directive. A Healthcare Agent could also be called a Healthcare Proxy, Surrogate, Attorney-in-Fact, or other similar terms. 

What can a Healthcare Agent do?

A Health Care Agent makes decisions about your healthcare when you cannot make those decisions yourself. The details vary a little by state, but a Healthcare Agent often makes decisions about: 

• When to start or stop treatment
• Which types of treatment to administer
• Whether to continue life support or not

A Healthcare Agent also helps make sure your doctors follow your preferences stated in the Living Will portion of your Advance Healthcare Directive. The Living Will is also where you can state your own general desires in advance. Learn more about Living Wills