Medical Power of Attorney Nebraska: How to Give Your Agent Healthcare Authority

What a Healthcare Power of Attorney Does in Nebraska

A healthcare power of attorney (HCPOA) lets your parent name a trusted person — called an agent — to make medical decisions if they lose the ability to make or communicate those decisions themselves. Nebraska authorizes this instrument under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-3408, and it's distinct from the financial POA that covers bank accounts and property.

The agent's authority stays dormant while your parent can still speak for themselves. It only activates when the attending physician determines in writing that your parent lacks the capacity to make or communicate healthcare decisions. This is sometimes called a "springing" mechanism, and it's built into every Nebraska healthcare POA by statute.

The agent can then consent to or refuse medical treatments, choose healthcare providers, authorize hospital transfers, and make decisions about nursing facility admission. Without this document, family members have no automatic legal standing to direct a parent's medical care — a reality that blindsides many families during a sudden hospitalization at Nebraska Medicine, CHI Health, or Bryan Health.

Execution Requirements: Witnesses or Notary

Nebraska gives you two options to execute a valid healthcare POA. Your parent must sign the document in the presence of either:

• A notary public, or
• Two adult witnesses

You do not need both. One path or the other satisfies the statute.

If your parent chooses the witness route, Nebraska imposes strict disqualification rules. Neither witness can be the designated healthcare agent. Neither can be the parent's attending physician. Employees of healthcare providers — hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities — cannot serve as witnesses unless they are blood relatives of the parent.

The notary route avoids these restrictions entirely. Walk into any UPS Store, bank, or courthouse with a notary on staff, and the document is done in minutes. For families where the parent is already hospitalized, the notary route often makes more sense because it eliminates the challenge of finding two qualified witnesses on a hospital floor.

Who Cannot Serve as Healthcare Agent

Nebraska law excludes certain people from acting as your parent's healthcare agent:

• The parent's attending physician or other healthcare provider cannot serve as agent unless they are a relative
• Owners, operators, and employees of the healthcare facility where the parent receives care face similar restrictions

These rules exist to prevent conflicts of interest. The person making medical decisions for your parent should not also be the person billing for those services.

Beyond the legal restrictions, families should consider practical factors. The agent should live close enough to respond quickly during an emergency, be emotionally capable of making difficult end-of-life decisions, and be willing to advocate against medical professionals when necessary. Nebraska law allows naming a successor agent — a backup who steps in if the primary agent is unavailable or unwilling to serve.

How the Healthcare POA Differs From a Living Will

A healthcare POA and a living will serve different purposes, and Nebraska families should execute both.

The healthcare POA appoints a person to make real-time medical decisions when your parent cannot. It covers everything from authorizing surgery to choosing a rehabilitation facility to deciding whether to continue a medication.

The living will — formally called a declaration under Nebraska's Rights of the Terminally Ill Act — states your parent's wishes about life-sustaining treatment, artificial nutrition, and hydration in terminal situations. It speaks directly to the medical team and does not appoint anyone.

When your parent has both documents, the healthcare agent knows what your parent wanted and has the legal authority to enforce those wishes. Without the living will, the agent is making end-of-life calls without written guidance. Without the POA, the living will's directives lack a person empowered to advocate for them if the medical team pushes back.

Adding HIPAA Coverage

A healthcare POA alone does not guarantee your agent can access medical records. Federal HIPAA regulations require a separate disclosure authorization before hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies will share information with anyone other than the patient.

Nebraska DHHS provides Form MLTC-34 — a Medicaid Authorization for Disclosure of Information — but families should also attach a standalone HIPAA release to the healthcare POA package. This release specifically authorizes the agent to receive, review, and copy all medical records, billing statements, and insurance claims.

Without it, your agent may have the authority to approve a surgery but be unable to review the diagnostic imaging that explains why the surgeon recommends it. That information gap creates dangerous decision-making blind spots.

Taking the Next Step

Executing a healthcare POA is one piece of a larger legal authority structure. Your parent also needs a durable financial POA to manage bank accounts and property, and you'll need to understand the guardianship path in case capacity is lost before these documents get signed. The Nebraska Power of Attorney & Guardianship Kit walks through the complete process — healthcare POA, financial POA, HIPAA release, and the county court guardianship petition — with Nebraska-specific instructions and statutory form references.

See more Nebraska guides →