The Presidential Memorandum Regarding Hospital Visitation and Decision-Making

On April 15, 2010, President Obama signed a presidential memorandum taking important steps to protect the visitation and healthcare decision-making rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people.

Two main orders related to visitation and decision-making are included in this memo:

Hospitals that participate in Medicare or Medicaid must “respect the rights of patients to designate visitors” and they may not deny visitation access based on “race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.”
These hospitals must respect all patients’ advance directives.

Read HRC's Press Release on this Presidential Memorandum