Bill Text: NY S03139 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires health insurance companies to provide health proxy forms to the insured and to store completed proxies on behalf of the insured; requires the department of social services to provide health proxy forms and instructions to persons applying for Medicaid.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-08 - REFERRED TO INSURANCE [S03139 Detail]
Download: New_York-2013-S03139-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 3139 2013-2014 Regular Sessions I N S E N A T E January 30, 2013 ___________ Introduced by Sen. KRUEGER -- 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 health insurance companies to provide health care proxy forms to the insured and to store completed proxies on behalf of the insured and to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring the department of social services to provide health care proxy forms and instructions to applicants for Medicaid THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: 1 Section 1. Section 3217-a of the insurance law is amended by adding a 2 new subsection (f) to read as follows: 3 (F) EACH INSURER SUBJECT TO THIS ARTICLE SHALL SUPPLY TO EACH INSURED 4 BIENNIALLY, OR UPON REQUEST, TO EACH PROSPECTIVE INSURED PRIOR TO 5 ENROLLMENT, A WRITTEN HEALTH CARE PROXY FORM AND A WRITTEN DESCRIPTION 6 OF THE PURPOSE OF THE HEALTH CARE PROXY FORM AND THE PROCEDURE BY WHICH 7 TO COMPLETE SUCH FORM. 8 S 2. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section 3240 to read 9 as follows: 10 S 3240. HEALTH CARE PROXY. (A) AN INSURER SUBJECT TO THIS ARTICLE 11 SHALL ACCEPT RECEIPT FROM AN INSURED OF HIS OR HER COMPLETED HEALTH CARE 12 PROXY AND STORE SUCH COMPLETED PROXY WITH THE INSURED'S PERMANENT 13 RECORDS. THE INSURED MAY SUBMIT SUCH PROXY TO THE INSURER AT THE TIME OF 14 REGISTRATION OR ENROLLMENT OF HIS OR HER HEALTH INSURANCE POLICY OR AT 15 ANY TIME THE INSURED HOLDS A POLICY WITH THE INSURER. THE INSURED MAY 16 FILE AN UPDATED COMPLETED PROXY WITH HIS OR HER INSURER AT ANY TIME THE 17 INSURED HOLDS A POLICY WITH THE INSURER. 18 (B) AN INSURER SHALL PROVIDE A COPY OF AN INSURED'S MOST RECENTLY 19 EXECUTED HEALTH CARE PROXY STORED WITH THE INSURED'S PERMANENT RECORDS 20 BY THE INSURER TO ANY HEALTH CARE PROVIDER OR INSTITUTION TREATING THE EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01000-01-3 S. 3139 2 1 INSURED WITHIN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS AFTER RECEIVING INITIAL NOTIFICATION OF 2 THE INSURED'S TREATMENT. 3 S 3. Subdivision 1-a of section 366-a of the social services law, as 4 added by chapter 512 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows: 5 1-a. Every person making application for medical assistance, and every 6 person on whose behalf an application is made, shall[, if interested,] 7 be given the New York state department of health model health care proxy 8 form, A WRITTEN DESCRIPTION OF THE PURPOSE OF THE HEALTH CARE PROXY FORM 9 AND THE PROCEDURE BY WHICH TO COMPLETE SUCH FORM by the person taking 10 the application, except where doing so would impede the immediate 11 provision of health care services. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL SUPPLY TO EACH 12 PERSON INSURED BIENNIALLY, OR UPON REQUEST, A WRITTEN HEALTH CARE PROXY 13 FORM, A WRITTEN DESCRIPTION OF THE PURPOSE OF THE HEALTH CARE PROXY FORM 14 AND THE PROCEDURE BY WHICH TO COMPLETE SUCH FORM. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL 15 ACCEPT RECEIPT FROM THE APPLICANT OF HIS OR HER COMPLETED HEALTH CARE 16 PROXY AND STORE SUCH COMPLETED PROXY WITH THE APPLICANT'S PERMANENT 17 RECORDS. THE APPLICANT MAY SUBMIT HIS OR HER COMPLETED PROXY TO THE 18 DEPARTMENT AT THE TIME OF APPLICATION OR ENROLLMENT FOR BENEFITS PURSU- 19 ANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS TITLE OR AT ANY TIME THE APPLICANT IS 20 RECEIVING BENEFITS PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS TITLE. THE DEPART- 21 MENT SHALL PROVIDE A COPY OF THE APPLICANT'S MOST RECENTLY EXECUTED 22 HEALTH CARE PROXY STORED WITH THE APPLICANT'S PERMANENT RECORDS BY THE 23 DEPARTMENT TO ANY HEALTH CARE PROVIDER OR INSTITUTION TREATING THE 24 APPLICANT WITHIN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS AFTER RECEIVING INITIAL NOTIFICATION 25 OF THE APPLICANT'S TREATMENT. 26 S 4. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 27 have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediately, the 28 addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary 29 for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized 30 and directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date.