Bill Text: NY S00834 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Relates to rates of reimbursement for telehealth services; requires insurers to reimburse telehealth providers at the same rate as they would if the services had been provided in person.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-26 - PRINT NUMBER 834A [S00834 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S00834-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 834--A 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 5, 2017 ___________ Introduced by Sens. YOUNG, RITCHIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health -- recom- mitted to the Committee on Health in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the public health law and the insurance law, in relation to rates of reimbursement for telehealth services The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 2999-dd of the public health law, as added by chap- 2 ter 6 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 2999-dd. Telehealth delivery of services. 1. Health care services 4 delivered by means of telehealth shall be entitled to reimbursement 5 under section three hundred sixty-seven-u of the social services law. 6 2. An insurer shall reimburse a telehealth provider for covered 7 services delivered via telehealth on the same basis and at the same rate 8 as established for the same service when not delivered via telehealth. 9 § 2. Subsection (a) of section 3217-h of the insurance law, as added 10 by chapter 6 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows: 11 (a) An insurer shall not exclude from coverage a service that is 12 otherwise covered under a policy that provides comprehensive coverage 13 for hospital, medical or surgical care because the service is delivered 14 via telehealth, as that term is defined in subsection (b) of this 15 section; provided, however, that an insurer may exclude from coverage a 16 service by a health care provider where the provider is not otherwise 17 covered under the policy. An insurer shall reimburse the telehealth 18 provider for covered services delivered via telehealth on the same basis 19 and at the same rate as established for the same service when not deliv- 20 ered via telehealth; and may subject the coverage of a service delivered 21 via telehealth to co-payments, coinsurance or deductibles provided that 22 they are at least as favorable to the insured as those established for EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06234-04-8S. 834--A 2 1 the same service when not delivered via telehealth. An insurer may 2 subject the coverage of a service delivered via telehealth to reasonable 3 utilization management and quality assurance requirements that are 4 consistent with those established for the same service when not deliv- 5 ered via telehealth. 6 § 3. Subsection (a) of section 4306-g of the insurance law, as added 7 by chapter 6 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows: 8 (a) A corporation shall not exclude from coverage a service that is 9 otherwise covered under a contract that provides comprehensive coverage 10 for hospital, medical or surgical care because the service is delivered 11 via telehealth, as that term is defined in subsection (b) of this 12 section; provided, however, that a corporation may exclude from coverage 13 a service by a health care provider where the provider is not otherwise 14 covered under the contract. A corporation shall reimburse the tele- 15 health provider for covered services delivered via telehealth on the 16 same basis and at the same rate as established for the same service when 17 not delivered via telehealth; and may subject the coverage of a service 18 delivered via telehealth to co-payments, coinsurance or deductibles 19 provided that they are at least as favorable to the insured as those 20 established for the same service when not delivered via telehealth. A 21 corporation may subject the coverage of a service delivered via tele- 22 health to reasonable utilization management and quality assurance 23 requirements that are consistent with those established for the same 24 service when not delivered via telehealth. 25 § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 4406-g of the public health law, as 26 added by chapter 6 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows: 27 1. A health maintenance organization shall not exclude from coverage a 28 service that is otherwise covered under an enrollee contract of a health 29 maintenance organization because the service is delivered via tele- 30 health, as that term is defined in subdivision two of this section; 31 provided, however, that a health maintenance organization may exclude 32 from coverage a service by a health care provider where the provider is 33 not otherwise covered under the enrollee contract. A health maintenance 34 organization shall reimburse the telehealth provider for covered 35 services delivered via telehealth on the same basis and at the same rate 36 as established for the same service when not delivered via telehealth; 37 and may subject the coverage of a service delivered via telehealth to 38 co-payments, coinsurance or deductibles provided that they are at least 39 as favorable to the enrollee as those established for the same service 40 when not delivered via telehealth. A health maintenance organization may 41 subject the coverage of a service delivered via telehealth to reasonable 42 utilization management and quality assurance requirements that are 43 consistent with those established for the same service when not deliv- 44 ered via telehealth. 45 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all 46 policies and contracts issued, renewed, modified, altered or amended on 47 or after January 1, 2018.
