Healthcare

Specifies that professional liability insurance insurers cannot deny coverage or increase rates solely based on legal use or prescription of certain gender-affirming care-related drugs; prescribes procedures for warrants issued in other jurisdictions for electronic data related to legally protected health activities; provides for additional procedural methods for protection of legally protected health activities.

This bill requires New York residential health care facilities to provide residents and their families with a separate document during the intake process. The document must include clear instructions on how to look up facility complaints, inspections, enforcement actions, and penalties, along with direct links to the state nursing home profiles website and the federal Nursing Home Compare website. It also mandates disclosure of the facility's ownership structure (including board members and LLC details) and major contractors handling staffing, food, and linen services. This directly affects all residential health care facilities and their residents/families by increasing transparency about facility oversight and operations.

This bill updates public health law to require hepatitis B vaccination for certain post-secondary students, adding it to existing immunization mandates for measles, mumps, and rubella. It specifies that required vaccines must meet U.S. public health standards and state health department approval. The law takes effect July 1st following enactment and directly affects students at colleges and universities in the state. The change modifies existing public health regulations without creating new programs or funding.

This bill (A 565) prohibits the establishment of new for-profit hospices and bans capacity increases for existing for-profit hospices. It applies to all approvals after the law takes effect, directly affecting for-profit hospice providers and their expansion plans. The law requires new hospice facilities to operate as non-profits and prevents existing for-profit hospices from growing their services. This represents a concrete change in healthcare regulation, restricting for-profit models in hospice care.

Provides that maternal health care facilities are not required to grant doula access during emergencies or when such access could compromise the safety of the patient or health care team.