Bill Text: NY A00021 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires insurance policies to provide coverage for services related to the diagnosis and treatment of mental, nervous or emotional disorders or ailments; makes related provisions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-08 - referred to insurance [A00021 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A00021-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           21

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 8, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. MAGNARELLI, JONES, COOK, COLTON, SIMON, BARRETT,
          DE LOS SANTOS, RAGA, BURDICK, EACHUS -- read once and referred to  the
          Committee on Insurance

        AN  ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to coverage for children
          for services related to the diagnosis and treatment of mental, nervous
          or emotional disorders or ailments

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Subsection  (i)  of  section 3216 of the insurance law is
     2  amended by adding a new paragraph 40 to read as follows:
     3    (40) (A) Every policy that provides medical, major medical or  similar
     4  comprehensive-type  coverage,  shall  provide  coverage for children for
     5  services related to the diagnosis and treatment of  mental,  nervous  or
     6  emotional  disorders  or ailments, including but not limited to biologi-
     7  cally  based  mental  illnesses  and  children  with  serious  emotional
     8  disturbances,  in  a  psychiatric  center  under the jurisdiction of the
     9  office of mental health or other psychiatric in-patient facility in  the
    10  department,  and a psychiatric in-patient facility maintained by a poli-
    11  tical subdivision of the state for the care or treatment of the mentally
    12  ill. Coverage required under this paragraph must be at  least  equal  to
    13  coverage  provided  in  such  policy  for the diagnosis and treatment of
    14  mental, nervous or emotional disorders or ailments  with  no  additional
    15  cost sharing.
    16    (B) For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "children" shall mean
    17  any person under the age of eighteen years.
    18    § 2. Subsection (l) of section 3221 of the insurance law is amended by
    19  adding a new paragraph 5-a to read as follows:
    20    (5-a) (A) Every policy that provides medical, major medical or similar
    21  comprehensive-type  coverage,  shall  provide  coverage for children for
    22  services related to the diagnosis and treatment of  mental,  nervous  or

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00321-01-5
        A. 21                               2

     1  emotional  disorders  or ailments, including but not limited to biologi-
     2  cally  based  mental  illnesses  and  children  with  serious  emotional
     3  disturbances,  in  a  psychiatric  center  under the jurisdiction of the
     4  office  of mental health or other psychiatric in-patient facility in the
     5  department, and a psychiatric in-patient facility maintained by a  poli-
     6  tical subdivision of the state for the care or treatment of the mentally
     7  ill.  Coverage  required  under this paragraph must be at least equal to
     8  coverage provided in such policy for  the  diagnosis  and  treatment  of
     9  mental,  nervous  or  emotional disorders or ailments with no additional
    10  cost sharing.
    11    (B) For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "children" shall mean
    12  any person under the age of eighteen years.
    13    § 3. Section 4303 of the insurance law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    14  subsection (g-1) to read as follows:
    15    (g-1) (1) Every contract that provides medical, major medical or simi-
    16  lar comprehensive-type coverage, shall provide coverage for children for
    17  services  related  to  the diagnosis and treatment of mental, nervous or
    18  emotional disorders or ailments, including but not limited  to  biologi-
    19  cally  based  mental  illnesses  and  children  with  serious  emotional
    20  disturbances, in a psychiatric center  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the
    21  office  of mental health or other psychiatric in-patient facility in the
    22  department, and a psychiatric in-patient facility maintained by a  poli-
    23  tical subdivision of the state for the care or treatment of the mentally
    24  ill.  Coverage  required  under this paragraph must be at least equal to
    25  coverage provided in such policy for  the  diagnosis  and  treatment  of
    26  mental,  nervous  or  emotional disorders or ailments with no additional
    27  cost sharing.
    28    (2) For the purposes of this subsection,  the  term  "children"  shall
    29  mean any person under the age of eighteen years.
    30    §  4.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall apply to any
    31  policy issued, delivered, renewed,  and/or  modified  on  or  after  the
    32  effective date of this act.