Bill Text: NY A04201 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relates to veterans' health care; creates a veteran health care review to ensure veterans and their families have access to health and mental health treatment, including for post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, military sexual trauma, reproductive and mental health conditions, and suicide prevention.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-3)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-04 - RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY [A04201 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A04201-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4201

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 13, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. STERN, SIMPSON -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Veterans' Affairs

        AN ACT to amend the executive law and the  veterans'  services  law,  in
          relation to veterans health care

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

     1    Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section  361-a
     2  to read as follows:
     3    §  361-a. Veteran health care review. 1. The division, in consultation
     4  with the department of health, shall undertake a study regarding veteran
     5  health care as provided in this section. Such study shall  be  completed
     6  and  reported to the legislature on or before December thirty-first, two
     7  thousand twenty-five.
     8    2. The veteran health care review shall comprehensively study  efforts
     9  that  can  be made to improve veterans' health care in the state includ-
    10  ing, but not be limited to:
    11    (a) increasing access by veterans and their families  to  health  care
    12  coverage and services;
    13    (b) leveraging existing resources and structures in areas where veter-
    14  ans and their families are able to easily access such resources;
    15    (c) ensuring the needs of veterans and their families are incorporated
    16  in  all  state  efforts  to  expand access to affordable, quality health
    17  care;
    18    (d) ensuring veterans and their families have access to mental  health
    19  treatment, including for post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and
    20  suicide prevention;
    21    (e)  identifying  all federal and other health benefits, coverage, and
    22  services available to veterans and their families; and
    23    (f) more effectively coordinating with other local, state, and federal
    24  departments and agencies, health care providers,  and  health  insurance
    25  programs  to  help  veterans  and their beneficiaries apply for coverage

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02560-01-3
        A. 4201                             2

     1  under such programs, including helping veterans overcome barriers within
     2  the health care system, to ensure enrollment in health plans and  effec-
     3  tive delivery and coordination of health services.
     4    3. As part of the study, the division shall also:
     5    (a)  evaluate whether the needs of veterans and their families are met
     6  by existing health care and veterans' programs;
     7    (b) provide recommendations for steps that could be taken to  increase
     8  access to affordable, quality health care;
     9    (c)  consider  the  effects  of designating health care navigators who
    10  would assist veterans in navigating the complexities of accessing health
    11  care benefits and services;
    12    (d) evaluate the extent to which veterans in the state are  experienc-
    13  ing  delays  in  the receipt of health care services and ways to provide
    14  assistance to those  veterans  having  difficulty  receiving  timely  or
    15  adequate care; and
    16    (e)  evaluate  the  potential  effectiveness  of  health  care  choice
    17  accounts, deposits into which shall be  deductible  from  the  veteran's
    18  state personal income tax, for veteran members of the organized militia,
    19  particularly those who served on active duty in a combat zone designated
    20  by the president of the United States and have a current disability that
    21  was incurred or aggravated as a result of such service.  For purposes of
    22  this  section  the term "health care choice account" shall mean an indi-
    23  vidual savings account, owned by a veteran for the purpose of  obtaining
    24  health  care from the provider of their choice, when after making appli-
    25  cation to or attempting to  schedule  an  appointment  for  health  care
    26  services  through the federal veterans health administration the veteran
    27  has been unable to receive such services in a timely manner.
    28    § 2. The veterans' services law is amended by  adding  a  new  section
    29  18-a to read as follows:
    30    §  18-a. Veteran health care  review. 1. The division, in consultation
    31  with the department of health, shall undertake a study regarding  veter-
    32  an health   care as provided  in  this  section.  Such  study  shall  be
    33  completed  and reported to the legislature on or before December thirty-
    34  first, two thousand twenty-five.
    35    2. The veteran health care review shall comprehensively study  efforts
    36  that  can  be made to improve veterans' health care in the state includ-
    37  ing, but not be limited to:
    38    (a) increasing access by veterans and   their   families   to   health
    39  care coverage and services;
    40    (b) leveraging existing resources and structures in areas where veter-
    41  ans and their families are able to easily access such resources;
    42    (c)  ensuring    the needs of veterans and their families are incorpo-
    43  rated in all state efforts to expand  access  to   affordable,   quality
    44  health care;
    45    (d)  ensuring    veterans    and  their families have access to mental
    46  health  treatment,  including  for   post-traumatic   stress   disorder,
    47  depression, and suicide prevention;
    48    (e)  identifying  all federal and other health benefits, coverage, and
    49  services available to veterans and their families; and
    50    (f) more effectively coordinating with other local, state, and federal
    51  departments  and agencies, health care providers, and  health  insurance
    52  programs  to  help  veterans  and their beneficiaries apply for coverage
    53  under such programs, including helping veterans overcome barriers within
    54  the health care system, to ensure enrollment in health plans and  effec-
    55  tive delivery and coordination of health services.
    56    3. As part of the study, the division shall also:
        A. 4201                             3

     1    (a) evaluate whether the needs of veterans and their families are  met
     2  by existing health care and veterans' programs;
     3    (b)  provide recommendations for steps that could be taken to increase
     4  access to affordable, quality health care;
     5    (c) consider the effects of designating  health  care  navigators  who
     6  would assist veterans in navigating the complexities of accessing health
     7  care benefits and services;
     8    (d)  evaluate the extent to which veterans in the state are experienc-
     9  ing delays in the receipt of health care services and  ways  to  provide
    10  assistance  to  those  veterans  having  difficulty  receiving timely or
    11  adequate care; and
    12    (e)  evaluate  the  potential  effectiveness  of  health  care  choice
    13  accounts,  deposits  into  which  shall be deductible from the veteran's
    14  state personal income tax, for veteran members of the organized militia,
    15  particularly those who served on active duty in a combat zone designated
    16  by the president of the United States and have a current disability that
    17  was incurred or aggravated as a result of such service.  For purposes of
    18  this section the term "health care choice account" shall mean  an  indi-
    19  vidual  savings account, owned by a veteran for the purpose of obtaining
    20  health care from the provider of their choice, when after making  appli-
    21  cation  to  or  attempting  to  schedule  an appointment for health care
    22  services through the federal veterans health administration the  veteran
    23  has been unable to receive such services in a timely manner.
    24    §  3.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
    25  have become a law; provided, however, that section two of this act shall
    26  take effect on the same date and in the same manner as section 2 of part
    27  PP of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022 takes effect.