STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          10301

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      May 17, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Paulin) --
          read once and referred to the Committee on Health

        AN ACT to amend the public health law, in  relation  to  prior  authori-
          zation and payments from the medical indemnity fund

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

     1    Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of  section  2999-j  of  the
     2  public  health  law,  as amended by section 3 of part K of chapter 57 of
     3  the laws of 2019, is amended and a new paragraph (b-1) is added to  read
     4  as follows:
     5    (b)  if  any  prior  authorization is required by such regulation, the
     6  regulation shall require that requests for prior authorization be  proc-
     7  essed  within  a  reasonably  prompt period of time and shall identify a
     8  process for prompt administrative review of any denial of a request  for
     9  prior authorization; [and]
    10    (b-1)  if  any prior authorization is required by such regulation, the
    11  regulation shall require establishing  a  mechanism  for  submission  of
    12  requests  for  prior  authorization by health care providers directly to
    13  the fund; and
    14    § 2. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 8 of section 2999-j  of  the  public
    15  health  law,  as added by section 52 of part H of chapter 59 of the laws
    16  of 2011, is amended and a new paragraph (c) is added to read as follows:
    17    (b) thereupon certify to the  commissioner  of  taxation  and  finance
    18  those costs that have been determined to be qualifying health care costs
    19  to be paid from the fund[.]; and
    20    (c)  notify the qualified plaintiff which of such costs are qualifying
    21  health care costs to be paid from the fund  along  with  which  of  such
    22  costs are not qualifying health care costs to be paid from the fund in a
    23  reasonably prompt period of time.
    24    §  3.  Subdivision  5  and  paragraph  (a) of subdivision 6 of section
    25  2999-i of the public health law, as amended by section 2 of  part  K  of
    26  chapter 57 of the laws of 2019, are amended to read as follows:
    27    5. For the state fiscal year beginning April first, two thousand elev-
    28  en  and ending March thirty-first, two thousand twelve, the state fiscal

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11112-03-4

        A. 10301                            2

     1  year beginning April first, two thousand twelve and ending  March  thir-
     2  ty-first,  two  thousand  thirteen,  and the state fiscal year beginning
     3  April first, two thousand thirteen and ending  March  thirty-first,  two
     4  thousand  fourteen, the superintendent of financial services shall cause
     5  to be deposited into the fund for  each  such  fiscal  year  the  amount
     6  appropriated for such purpose. Beginning April first, two thousand four-
     7  teen  and  annually thereafter, the superintendent of financial services
     8  or the commissioner, whoever is administering the fund for the  applica-
     9  ble  period shall cause to be deposited into the fund, subject to avail-
    10  able appropriations, an amount  equal  to  the  difference  between  the
    11  amount appropriated to the fund in the preceding fiscal year[,].  Begin-
    12  ning  April first, two thousand twenty-five, the commissioner or whoever
    13  is administering the fund for the applicable period shall  cause  to  be
    14  deposited  into  the fund an amount equal to the funding level necessary
    15  to ensure the liabilities of the medical indemnity fund do not equal  or
    16  exceed eighty percent of the fund's assets as determined in the actuari-
    17  al  calculation  set  forth  in paragraph (a) of subdivision six of this
    18  section, as increased by the adjustment factor  defined  in  subdivision
    19  seven  of this section[, and the assets of the fund at the conclusion of
    20  that fiscal year].
    21    (a) [Following] No later than sixty days following the deposit  refer-
    22  enced  in  subdivision  five  of  this  section,  the commissioner shall
    23  conduct an actuarial calculation of the  estimated  liabilities  of  the
    24  fund  for  the  coming  year  resulting  from  the  qualified plaintiffs
    25  enrolled in the fund and shall also conduct quarterly  actuarial  calcu-
    26  lations. The department shall publicly post on its website such actuari-
    27  al  calculations  within  thirty days of completion.   The administrator
    28  shall from time to time  adjust  such  calculation  in  accordance  with
    29  subdivision  seven  of  this  section.  If the total of all estimates of
    30  current liabilities equals or  exceeds  eighty  percent  of  the  fund's
    31  assets,  then  the fund shall not accept any new enrollments until a new
    32  deposit has been made pursuant to  subdivision  five  of  this  section,
    33  provided however, the department shall provide sixty days' notice on its
    34  website before the fund suspends enrollments.  When, as a result of such
    35  new  deposit,  the fund's liabilities no longer exceed eighty percent of
    36  the fund's assets, the fund administrator  shall  enroll  new  qualified
    37  plaintiffs  in  the  order  that  an application for enrollment has been
    38  submitted in accordance with subdivision seven  of  section  twenty-nine
    39  hundred   ninety-nine-j  of  this  title.    Notwithstanding  any  other
    40  provision of this section, for the state  fiscal  year  beginning  April
    41  first, two thousand twenty-four and ending March thirty-first, two thou-
    42  sand  twenty-five,  the  fund  shall  continue to accept new enrollments
    43  provided the total of all estimates of  current  liabilities  equals  or
    44  exceeds ninety percent of the fund's assets.
    45    §  4.  This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
    46  sections one and two of this act shall take effect on the ninetieth  day
    47  after it shall have become a law.