• Federal: Regulations enacted by President Obama in April 2011 allow patients in hospitals receiving Medicare and Medicaid funding to decide who has visitation and decision-making rights on their behalf regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
• States: Such rights are not legally defined by law in many states, and gay and lesbian couples are typically granted these rights based on whether that state recognizes same-sex partners.
Full rights (19)
Same-sex spouses are allowed visitation rights:
-California
-Colorado
-Connecticut
-Delaware
-District of Columbia
-Hawaii
-Illinois
-Iowa
-Massachusetts
-Maryland
-Nevada
-New Hampshire
-New Jersey
-New York
-Oregon
-Rhode Island
-Vermont
-Washington
-Wisconsin
Some Rights (6)
Designated visitors are allowed visitation rights in hospitals:
-Kentucky
-Minnesota
-Nebraska
-North Carolina
-Virginia
-West Virginia
No Rights (26)
No visitation rights for same-sex couples:
-Alabama
-Alaska
-Arizona
-Arkansas
-Florida
-Georgia
-Idaho
-Indiana
-Kansas
-Louisiana
-Maine
-Michigan
-Mississippi
-Missouri
-Montana
-New Mexico
-North Dakota
-Ohio
-Oklahoma
-Pennsylvania
-South Carolina
-South Dakota
-Tennessee
-Texas
-Utah
-Wyoming
