The Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA) was passed by the United States Congress in 1990 as an amendment to the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990.
Effective on December 1, 1991, this legislation required many hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, hospice providers, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), and other health care institutions to provide information about advance health care directives to adult patients upon their admission to the healthcare facility.
[1][2] This law does not apply to individual physicians.
Section 1233 of the proposed America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 (H.R.
3200) would have authorized reimbursements for physician counseling regarding advance directives (once every five years)[3] but it was not included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 because of controversy over what were characterized as "death panels.