Bill Text: NY A06434 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the obligations of a physician upon the termination of a relationship with a patient; requires the physician to provide thirty days notice to the patient, to continue to provide care and prescriptions to the patient, and to provide referrals and copies of patient records.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to higher education [A06434 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A06434-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6434

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      April 6, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. BURDICK -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Higher Education

        AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the obligations  of  a
          physician upon the termination of a relationship with a patient

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

     1    Section 1. Section 6527 of the education law is amended  by  adding  a
     2  new subdivision 11 to read as follows:
     3    11.  (a)  Notwithstanding  any  inconsistent provision of any general,
     4  special or local law, any licensed physician  who  or  medical  practice
     5  that  voluntarily  terminates  a  relationship  with an existing patient
     6  shall:
     7    (i) provide the patient with at least thirty days  advance  notice  of
     8  the  termination by written or electronic notice specifying the specific
     9  date, thirty days or more in the future, upon  which  the  physician-pa-
    10  tient relationship will terminate;
    11    (ii) remain available to render care to the patient in accordance with
    12  regular practice hours if the patient needs immediate professional care,
    13  including care for emergencies;
    14    (iii) renew the patient's existing prescriptions for medications for a
    15  least one month or for the period of time the prescription is authorized
    16  to  be  renewed for, if shorter than one month, provided the patient has
    17  been seen recently by the physician or medical practice and is  eligible
    18  for the medication pursuant to a recent examination;
    19    (iv) provide the patient with a medical plan that sets out what course
    20  of  treatment  or  further  care,  based  on the most recent exam by the
    21  physician or medical practice, the patient should follow up with  within
    22  the three months following the date of the notice of termination;
    23    (v)  provide  a  list of referral sources or organizations the patient
    24  may contact to locate a physician, group or specialist,  as  applicable,
    25  who is accepting patients; and

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10650-01-3
        A. 6434                             2

     1    (vi)  offer to transfer a copy of the patient's medical records to the
     2  patient's new physician.
     3    (b) Nothing in this subdivision shall prohibit a licensed physician or
     4  medical  practice  from  charging  the  reasonable  costs of reproducing
     5  records in accordance with section seventeen of the public  health  law.
     6  The  physician  or medical group may include in the termination letter a
     7  notice to the patient specifying the costs associated  with  reproducing
     8  the records and request reimbursement from the patient.
     9    (c)  The  provisions of this section shall not exempt any physician or
    10  medical practice from additional requirements imposed by Medicare, Medi-
    11  caid, or a private health insurance plan with respect to  the  dismissal
    12  of a patient enrolled in such plan or covered by such insurance.
    13    §  2.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
    14  have become a law.