Healthcare (Hospitals)

This bill requires hospitals to permit visitation by clergy members from a patient's established religious congregation, provided the patient (or their legal representative) requests it and the visit aligns with hospital safety and treatment protocols. Key provisions include allowing clergy to count toward a hospital's visitor limit (with a one-hour time limit) and permitting immediate visitation during end-of-life or life-threatening emergencies. It directly affects patients, hospitals, and clergy by clarifying visitation rights without overriding existing safety restrictions in units like burn wards or disease isolation areas. The bill does not compel hospitals to allow clergy if safety risks exist, nor does it require clergy to provide visitation.

Requires that a contract between an insurer and a hospital shall include a provision that provides for medical records requested by the insurer or its utilization review agent to be made available electronically by the hospital; limits the use of disclosed records.

This bill (A 6128) requires health insurers and health coverage providers under New York's Healthy New York program to include coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of mental health conditions in existing policies. It directly affects insurers selling group or individual health insurance policies that cover hospital care or physician services. The key change amends insurance law to mandate that these policies explicitly cover mental health care, aligning it with other medical treatments. The bill takes effect immediately upon enactment.

This bill requires health insurers to pay hospitals at contracted rates within specific timeframes, regardless of their own medical necessity or administrative policies. It establishes a joint committee process where insurers can request clinical documentation for up to 10% of paid claims (increasing to 15% if over half of requested claims were inappropriate) to review if care was medically necessary after payment. Hospitals must provide documentation within 60 business days, and unresolved disputes escalate to an independent third-party reviewer whose binding decision may require refunds if services weren't necessary. The policy directly affects hospitals and insurers, ensuring timely payments while creating a structured dispute resolution path for claim reviews. The law takes effect January 1, 2026.