Bill Text: NY A00379 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to access to the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children relating to specialty formula; relates to the effectiveness thereof.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2017-03-15 - signed chap.12 [A00379 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A00379-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                           379
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                     January 5, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. CRESPO -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Health
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  public health law, in relation to access to the
          special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children
          and specialty formula; and to amend a chapter  of  the  laws  of  2016
          amending  the  public  health  law  relating  to access to the special
          supplemental nutrition program for women,  infants  and  children,  as
          proposed  in  legislative  bills  numbers  S.   8077 and A. 9648-A, in
          relation to the effectiveness thereof
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1. Section 2507 of the public health law, as added by a chap-
     2  ter of the laws of 2016 amending  the  public  health  law  relating  to
     3  access  to the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants
     4  and children, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.  8077  and  A.
     5  9648-A, is amended to read as follows:
     6    §  2507. Special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and
     7  children; specialty [infant] formula.
     8    1. Definitions. For the purposes of this section:
     9    (a) "WIC" shall mean the special supplemental  nutrition  program  for
    10  women, infants and children;
    11    (b) "WIC food vendor" shall mean a [vendor which has a contract] busi-
    12  ness entity that operates a retail delivery system that is authorized by
    13  the  department to sell products covered by WIC to individuals under the
    14  WIC program; and
    15    (c) "Specialty [infant] formula" shall mean [infant  formula  that  is
    16  prescribed  for a specific medical condition, for which medical documen-
    17  tation may be required, under regulations of the  commissioner]  specif-
    18  ically  formulated  nutrition  products prescribed for medically fragile
    19  WIC participants with qualifying medical conditions.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07085-01-7
        A. 379                              2
     1    2. Every WIC food vendor shall  be  authorized  to  sell  any  product
     2  covered  under  WIC, including specialty [infant] formula, in accordance
     3  with the WIC vendor type as designated by the department, unless specif-
     4  ically limited or barred by the commissioner [applying regulations under
     5  this  section  or  applicable] pursuant to state or federal regulations.
     6  The commissioner [shall not apply arbitrary criteria, or  criteria  that
     7  create  unreasonable  barriers  for WIC participants to access specialty
     8  infant formula, and  shall  only  apply  criteria  that  are  reasonably
     9  related  to and consistent with: (a) promoting WIC beneficiary access to
    10  specialty infant formula; and (b) administration of WIC with  integrity,
    11  efficiency  and  security]  is authorized to establish criteria defining
    12  which WIC food vendors can sell specialty  formula.  Any  such  criteria
    13  shall not be applied arbitrarily and shall ensure WIC participant access
    14  to  specialty  formula.  The  commissioner  shall establish a process to
    15  address individual cases where  there  is  evidence  of  inadequate  WIC
    16  participant access.
    17    §  2.  Section  2 of a chapter of the laws of 2016 amending the public
    18  health law relating to access  to  the  special  supplemental  nutrition
    19  program  for  women,  infants  and  children, as proposed in legislative
    20  bills numbers S. 8077 and A. 9648-A, is amended to read as follows:
    21    § 2. This act shall take effect [on  the  one  hundred  eightieth  day
    22  after  it  shall  have  become  a law; provided, however, that effective
    23  immediately, the commissioner of health shall make regulations and  take
    24  other  actions  necessary to implement the provisions of this act] imme-
    25  diately.
    26    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.