Bill Text: NY S00879 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires comprehensive motor vehicle reparations and workers' compensation coverage of health care services delivered by means of telehealth.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-01-09 - REFERRED TO INSURANCE [S00879 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S00879-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                           879
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                     January 9, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  YOUNG  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Insurance
        AN ACT to amend the insurance law and the workers' compensation law,  in
          relation to coverage of health care services by means of telehealth
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Paragraph 1 of subsection (a) of section 5102 of the insur-
     2  ance law, as amended by chapter 298 of the laws of 2006, is  amended  to
     3  read as follows:
     4    (1)  All  necessary  expenses  incurred  for:  (i)  medical,  hospital
     5  (including services rendered in compliance with article forty-one of the
     6  public health law, whether or not such services are rendered directly by
     7  a hospital), surgical, nursing, dental, ambulance,  x-ray,  prescription
     8  drug   and  prosthetic  services;  (ii)  psychiatric,  physical  therapy
     9  (provided that treatment is rendered pursuant to a referral) and occupa-
    10  tional therapy and rehabilitation; (iii) any health care services deliv-
    11  ered by means of telehealth, as defined in  subsection  (b)  of  section
    12  three  thousand  two  hundred seventeen-h of this chapter; (iv) any non-
    13  medical remedial care and treatment rendered in accordance with a  reli-
    14  gious method of healing recognized by the laws of this state; and [(iv)]
    15  (v) any other professional health services; all without limitation as to
    16  time, provided that within one year after the date of the accident caus-
    17  ing the injury it is ascertainable that further expenses may be incurred
    18  as a result of the injury. For the purpose of determining basic economic
    19  loss,  the expenses incurred under this paragraph shall be in accordance
    20  with the limitations of section five thousand one hundred eight of  this
    21  article.
    22    §  2.  The  opening  paragraph of subdivision (a) of section 13 of the
    23  workers' compensation law, as amended by chapter 23 of the laws of 2016,
    24  is amended to read as follows:
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04129-01-9
        S. 879                              2
     1    The employer shall promptly  provide  for  an  injured  employee  such
     2  medical,  dental, surgical, optometric or other attendance or treatment,
     3  nurse and hospital service,  medicine,  optometric  services,  crutches,
     4  eye-glasses,   false   teeth,  artificial  eyes,  orthotics,  prosthetic
     5  devices,  functional  assistive  and  adaptive devices and apparatus for
     6  such period as the nature of the injury or the process of  recovery  may
     7  require. The employer shall be liable for the payment of the expenses of
     8  medical,  dental, surgical, optometric or other attendance or treatment,
     9  nurse and hospital service, any health care services delivered by  means
    10  of  telehealth,  as  defined in subsection (b) of section three thousand
    11  two hundred seventeen-h  of  the  insurance  law,  medicine,  optometric
    12  services,  crutches,  eye-glasses, false teeth, artificial eyes, orthot-
    13  ics, prosthetic devices, functional assistive and adaptive  devices  and
    14  apparatus, as well as artificial members of the body or other devices or
    15  appliances  necessary  in  the  first  instance  to  replace, support or
    16  relieve a portion or part of the body resulting from and necessitated by
    17  the injury of an employee, for such period as the nature of  the  injury
    18  or  the  process of recovery may require, and the employer shall also be
    19  liable for replacements or repairs of such  artificial  members  of  the
    20  body  or  such other devices, eye-glasses, false teeth, artificial eyes,
    21  orthotics, prosthetic devices, functional assistive and adaptive devices
    22  or appliances necessitated by ordinary wear  or  loss  or  damage  to  a
    23  prosthesis,  with or without bodily injury to the employee. Damage to or
    24  loss of a prosthetic device shall be deemed an  injury  except  that  no
    25  disability  benefits  shall be payable with respect to such injury under
    26  section fifteen of this article. Such a replacement or repair of artifi-
    27  cial members of the body  or  such  other  devices,  eye-glasses,  false
    28  teeth, artificial eyes, orthotics, prosthetic devices, functional assis-
    29  tive  and  adaptive  devices  or  appliances or the providing of medical
    30  treatment and care as defined herein shall not constitute the payment of
    31  compensation under section twenty-five-a of this article. All  fees  and
    32  other  charges  for such treatment and services shall be limited to such
    33  charges as prevail in  the  same  community  for  similar  treatment  of
    34  injured persons of a like standard of living.
    35    §  3. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
    36  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.