NY State Senate Bill 2015-S2881

Senate Bill S2881

2015-2016 Legislative Session

Requires health insurance companies to provide health proxy forms to the insured and to store completed proxies on behalf of the insured

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Insurance Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 06, 2016	referred to insurance
Jan 29, 2015	referred to insurance

co-Sponsors

2015-S2881 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6259
Current Committee:: Senate Insurance
Law Section:: Insurance Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §3217-a, add §3242, Ins L; amd §366-a, Soc Serv L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2011-2012: S6939
2013-2014: S3139
2017-2018: S3998, A6859
2019-2020: A3020

2015-S2881 (ACTIVE) - Summary

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.

2015-S2881 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S2881

TITLE OF BILL:

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

PURPOSE OF GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To require health insurance providers in New York State to issue and
store health care proxy forms and written descriptions of its purpose
for policyholders.

SUMMARY:

Section one adds a new subsection (g) to Section 3217-a of the
insurance law to require health insurance providers to give the health
proxy form to all policy holders upon request and every two years.
Completion of the form by the policy holder is not mandatory.

Section two of this bill adds a new section 3242 which requires the
health insurance provider to receive and store the completed proxy

form with the enrollees other records. The insurance carrier shall
provide the proxy form to the healthcare institutions/medical
personnel who need to contact the proxy named on the form in the
course of the policyholder's care.

Section 366-a of the social services law is amended to require the
department to provide health care proxy forms with instructions to
complete the forms to individuals applying for Medicaid. The
department shall accept and store the completed proxy form from the
applicant. In addition the department shall supply the form to the
medical facility treating the applicant.

JUSTIFICATION:

Healthcare proxies have been legal documents in New York State since
1991. A proxy allows a person to designate someone to be their
surrogate decision-maker in a healthcare setting should they be unable
to speak or make decisions for themselves. The State Department of
Health website has forms, extensive instructions and information on
healthcare proxies. Unfortunately, very few people in the State have
completed this form, or even know that it exists.

Currently, hospitals are required by law to provide this form to
anyone being admitted, although it may not be an ideal time for the
patient to make important healthcare decisions. A person entering a
hospital may be in no condition to fill out paperwork or consider who
best understands or knows their wishes. Even if a hospitalization is
planned, it can be a stressful time for an individual and people close
to them, making them unwilling to complete the document or to make the
best choice regarding the identity of their healthcare proxy.


For those who do have a healthcare proxy, there is no set system for
making this form available to the healthcare institution caring for
the Proxy-holder. If one fills out a proxy form at a healthcare
institution, is discharged, and then some time later is admitted to a
different institution, a new form would likely be needed. If one has
supplied a completed form to one's primary care physician's office,
there is no guarantee that it will be transferred to an admitting
hospital in a timely manner. Because there is no standardized system
for storing this information, there have also been situations in which
a person's most updated proxy has not been available, and therefore a
former proxy no longer appropriate (for example, a divorced spouse)
was the legal agent.

Because it is clear that the people who are closest to a person are
best suited to represent that individual and make decisions regarding
their care, New York has recently passed into law the Family
Healthcare Decisions Act (FHDA). While this certainly represents
progress in our efforts to achieve quality patient care, it also
highlights the fact that for some the person who would be their
designated agent per FHDA may not be the one they would choose as
their healthcare proxy. Furthermore, FHDA only applies to certain
healthcare settings, while a Proxy applies to all settings. For
example, if a person suffering from dementia wished to be represented
by their spouse at their community clinic, this would be possible
under current law only if the person had designated their spouse as
their proxy.

Individuals, families, healthcare institutions, and health insurance
companies are all best served by patients and their loved ones being
satisfied that a person is receiving the individual care that they
would choose. Having a current healthcare proxy is the ideal way to
accomplish this. The only way for more people to complete this
document and update it if their life circumstances change, is to
increase exposure to the document.

Whenever a person is admitted to a healthcare institution, that
institution always contacts their insurance provider for personal
information and reimbursement purposes. In the process of such a
transaction, it would be convenient for the policy provider to make
available the Proxy's identity and contact information in whatever
format they are providing other data needed by the health care
institution (phone, fax, etc.)

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR THE STATE:

To be determined.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall become
law; provided, however, that effective immediately, the addition,
amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the
implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized and
directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date.

2015-S2881 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  2881

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            January 29, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced by Sens. KRUEGER, MONTGOMERY -- read twice and ordered print-
  ed, 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:

  Section 1.  Section 3217-a of the insurance law is amended by adding a
new subsection (g) to read as follows:
  (G) EACH INSURER SUBJECT TO THIS ARTICLE SHALL SUPPLY TO EACH  INSURED
BIENNIALLY,  OR  UPON  REQUEST,  TO  EACH  PROSPECTIVE  INSURED PRIOR TO
ENROLLMENT, A WRITTEN HEALTH CARE PROXY FORM AND A  WRITTEN  DESCRIPTION
OF  THE PURPOSE OF THE HEALTH CARE PROXY FORM AND THE PROCEDURE BY WHICH
TO COMPLETE SUCH FORM.
  S 2. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section 3242 to read
as follows:
  S 3242. HEALTH CARE PROXY. (A) AN  INSURER  SUBJECT  TO  THIS  ARTICLE
SHALL ACCEPT RECEIPT FROM AN INSURED OF HIS OR HER COMPLETED HEALTH CARE
PROXY  AND  STORE  SUCH  COMPLETED  PROXY  WITH  THE INSURED'S PERMANENT
RECORDS. THE INSURED MAY SUBMIT SUCH PROXY TO THE INSURER AT THE TIME OF
REGISTRATION OR ENROLLMENT OF HIS OR HER HEALTH INSURANCE POLICY  OR  AT
ANY  TIME  THE  INSURED HOLDS A POLICY WITH THE INSURER. THE INSURED MAY
FILE AN UPDATED COMPLETED PROXY WITH HIS OR HER INSURER AT ANY TIME  THE
INSURED HOLDS A POLICY WITH THE INSURER.
  (B)  AN  INSURER  SHALL  PROVIDE  A COPY OF AN INSURED'S MOST RECENTLY
EXECUTED HEALTH CARE PROXY STORED WITH THE INSURED'S  PERMANENT  RECORDS
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.
                                                           LBD03346-01-5

S. 2881                             2

INSURED WITHIN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS AFTER RECEIVING INITIAL NOTIFICATION OF
THE INSURED'S TREATMENT.
  S  3.  Subdivision 1-a of section 366-a of the social services law, as
added by chapter 512 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
  1-a. Every person making application for medical assistance, and every
person on whose behalf an application is made, shall[,  if  interested,]
be given the New York state department of health model health care proxy
form, A WRITTEN DESCRIPTION OF THE PURPOSE OF THE HEALTH CARE PROXY FORM
AND  THE  PROCEDURE  BY WHICH TO COMPLETE SUCH FORM by the person taking
the application, except  where  doing  so  would  impede  the  immediate
provision  of health care services.  THE DEPARTMENT SHALL SUPPLY TO EACH
PERSON INSURED BIENNIALLY, OR UPON REQUEST, A WRITTEN HEALTH CARE  PROXY
FORM, A WRITTEN DESCRIPTION OF THE PURPOSE OF THE HEALTH CARE PROXY FORM
AND  THE  PROCEDURE BY WHICH TO COMPLETE SUCH FORM. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL
ACCEPT RECEIPT FROM THE APPLICANT OF HIS OR HER  COMPLETED  HEALTH  CARE
PROXY  AND  STORE  SUCH  COMPLETED  PROXY WITH THE APPLICANT'S PERMANENT
RECORDS. THE APPLICANT MAY SUBMIT HIS OR  HER  COMPLETED  PROXY  TO  THE
DEPARTMENT  AT THE TIME OF APPLICATION OR ENROLLMENT FOR BENEFITS PURSU-
ANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS TITLE OR AT  ANY  TIME  THE  APPLICANT  IS
RECEIVING BENEFITS PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS TITLE. THE DEPART-
MENT  SHALL  PROVIDE  A  COPY  OF THE APPLICANT'S MOST RECENTLY EXECUTED
HEALTH CARE PROXY STORED WITH THE APPLICANT'S PERMANENT RECORDS  BY  THE
DEPARTMENT  TO  ANY  HEALTH  CARE  PROVIDER  OR INSTITUTION TREATING THE
APPLICANT WITHIN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS AFTER RECEIVING INITIAL  NOTIFICATION
OF THE APPLICANT'S TREATMENT.
  S  4.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
have become a law; provided, however, that  effective  immediately,  the
addition,  amendment  and/or  repeal of any rule or regulation necessary
for the implementation of this act on its effective date are  authorized
and directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date.

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Senate Bill S2881

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Sponsored By

Liz Krueger