Clarifies that residents of the state and any policyholder, contract holder, certificate holder, or beneficiary of a policy, contract, or certificate of life, accident and health insurance may sue an insurer for violations related to misrepresentations, misleading statements and incomplete comparisons.
This bill requires New York's Department of Health to create and maintain a dedicated menopause information webpage on its website within 180 days. The webpage must cover key topics including the stages of menopause (perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause), treatment and management options, and associated symptoms and health complications. It directly affects residents seeking accessible, official health information about menopause. The mandate focuses on providing factual, standardized resources to the public, with no additional funding or enforcement mechanisms specified.
Defines mental health practitioners with diagnostic authority for the purposes of providing services under the workers' compensation law; includes such practitioners as providers.
Bill A 6522 allows specific Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) to purchase group health insurance policies for their members and employees. It permits ACOs comprised solely of private physician practices to offer experience-rated health insurance plans. The bill establishes requirements for these policies, including minimum coverage numbers and methods for premium payment. It also exempts qualifying ACOs from certain small group rating rules, provided they meet criteria such as having a minimum number of employers and a significant Medicaid patient base.
This bill requires large group health insurance plans in New York to cover acupuncture services when prescribed by qualified healthcare providers (as defined under Education Law §8211). It applies to plans covering physician office services or comprehensive medical coverage, mandating coverage for acupuncture treatments but allowing reasonable cost-sharing like deductibles or co-pays. The law does not require full coverage without cost-sharing, only that plans include acupuncture as a covered service under specified conditions. It affects insurers offering large group plans and patients relying on such coverage for acupuncture treatments. The bill takes effect 90 days after enactment for new or renewed policies.
This bill requires healthcare providers and facilities to report cases of Alpha-gal syndrome, a serious allergic reaction caused by tick bites, to state health officials. It mandates that the state health commissioner create rules to make this condition a reportable disease and update official surveillance reports to include it alongside other tick-borne illnesses. The legislation applies to medical practitioners and healthcare facilities across the state to improve tracking of this specific health condition. The bill will not take effect immediately but will begin 180 days after it becomes law.
This bill amends New York's insurance law to require health insurers to cover image-guided breast biopsies as part of mandatory breast cancer screening. It directly affects patients seeking breast cancer detection and insurers who must provide this coverage when recommended by a physician following nationally recognized clinical guidelines. The key change adds "image-guided breast biopsies" to the list of covered screening and diagnostic imaging procedures, alongside mammograms and ultrasounds. Coverage applies only when the procedure is recommended by a physician and aligns with evidence-based clinical guidelines. The requirement takes effect January 1, 2026, for new or renewed insurance policies.
This bill requires New York's Department of Public Health to annually report on food security trends at the county level. It directs the department to include the USDA's standard six-item food security survey in its existing health tracking system and publicly post the results online each year. The law directly affects New York residents by creating a state-level tracking system to monitor food insecurity, replacing the discontinued federal USDA report. This provides lawmakers and community organizations with updated, localized data to inform decisions about nutrition assistance programs and resource allocation.
Requires insurers to cover the substitution of a brand name prescription drug when the federal food and drug administration has declared that there is a supply issue with a generic drug.
Permits telemedicine services for mental and behavioral health issues under the workers' compensation system; permits one in-person visit within twelve months unless such in-person visit causes undue hardship on a patient.
