Bill Text: NY S01670 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires insurance coverage for lactation consultant services by professionally certified counselors who evaluate and manage lactation and infant feeding problems and provide preventative clinical consulting to prevent or minimize the occurrence of potential problems.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-13 - REFERRED TO INSURANCE [S01670 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-S01670-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1670

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 13, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. SALAZAR -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Insurance

        AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation  to  requiring  insurance
          coverage for lactation consultant services

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

     1    Section 1. Subsection (i) of section 3216  of  the  insurance  law  is
     2  amended by adding a new paragraph 40 to read as follows:
     3    (40)  Every  policy  that  provides coverage for hospital, surgical or
     4  medical care shall provide outpatient coverage for lactation  consultant
     5  services.    Coverage  provided  under  this paragraph may be subject to
     6  annual deductibles and co-insurance as deemed appropriate by the  super-
     7  intendent  and  that are consistent with those imposed on other benefits
     8  within a given policy. For the purposes of  this  paragraph,  "lactation
     9  consultant"  shall  mean an individual who holds the international board
    10  certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) credential who is in good  stand-
    11  ing  with  the international board of lactation consultant examiners who
    12  evaluates and manages lactation and infant feeding problems and provides
    13  preventive clinical consulting to prevent or minimize the occurrence  of
    14  potential problems.
    15    § 2. Subsection (k) of section 3221 of the insurance law is amended by
    16  adding a new paragraph 24 to read as follows:
    17    (24) Every group or blanket policy delivered or issued for delivery in
    18  this state that provides coverage for hospital, surgical or medical care
    19  shall  provide  such coverage for lactation consultant services. For the
    20  purposes of this paragraph, "lactation consultant" shall mean  an  indi-
    21  vidual  who holds the international board certified lactation consultant
    22  (IBCLC) credential who is in good standing with the international  board
    23  of  lactation  consultant  examiners who evaluates and manages lactation
    24  and infant feeding problems and provides preventive clinical  consulting
    25  to prevent or minimize the occurrence of potential problems.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03999-02-5
        S. 1670                             2

     1    §  3.  Section  4303  of  the insurance law is amended by adding a new
     2  subsection (ww) to read as follows:
     3    (ww)  A  medical  expense  indemnity  corporation,  a hospital service
     4  corporation or a health service corporation that provides  coverage  for
     5  hospital,  surgical  or  medical  care  shall  provide such coverage for
     6  lactation consultant services. For  the  purposes  of  this  subsection,
     7  "lactation  consultant"  shall mean an individual who holds the interna-
     8  tional board certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) credential who is in
     9  good standing with the international board of lactation consultant exam-
    10  iners who evaluates and manages lactation and  infant  feeding  problems
    11  and  provides  preventive clinical consulting to prevent or minimize the
    12  occurrence of potential problems.
    13    § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
    14  ing  the date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply to all
    15  insurance policies,  contracts  and  plans  issued,  renewed,  modified,
    16  altered or amended on or after such effective date.