Drawback of Wisconsin's Free Power of Attorney for Health Care

By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi
Those who know me well know that I appreciate frugal approaches to life.  However, I have my limits and one is not using the free power of attorney for health care form provided by Wisconsin's Department of Health Services.  Why?  The form does not contain an explicit waiver of the federal law (HIPAA) that makes one's health information private.  What good is a form that says my husband can make decisions for me, but does not give him legal authority to access health information?  Instead, I use the model forms in Eckhardt's Workbook for Estate Planners in Wisconsin.


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