NY State Senate Bill 2009-S4782

Senate Bill S4782

2009-2010 Legislative Session

Prohibits any group or blanket health insurance policy to exclude from coverage any group member based on a predisposing genetic characteristic

download bill text pdf

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

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 06, 2010	referred to insurance
Apr 27, 2009	referred to insurance

2009-S4782 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A8123
Current Committee:: Senate Insurance
Law Section:: Insurance Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §3221, add §4306-c, Ins L
Versions Introduced in 2011-2012 Legislative Session:: A6478

2009-S4782 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Prohibits any group or blanket health insurance policy to exclude from coverage any group member based on a predisposing genetic characteristic; prohibits any hospital service corporation, health service corporation or medical expense indemnity corporation contract to exclude from coverage any group member based on predisposing genetic characteristics; defines relevant terms.

2009-S4782 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2009-S4782 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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

                                  4782

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                             April 27, 2009
                               ___________

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 genetic discrimination
  in health insurance

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.    Subsection  (1) of section 3221 of the insurance law is
amended by adding a new paragraph 18 to read as follows:
  (18) (A) DEFINITIONS. AS USED IN THIS PARAGRAPH:
  (I) "PREDISPOSING GENETIC CHARACTERISTIC"  SHALL  MEAN  ANY  INHERITED
GENE  OR  CHROMOSOME,  OR ALTERATION THEREOF, AS DETERMINED BY A GENETIC
TEST OR INFERRED FROM INFORMATION DERIVED FROM AN INDIVIDUAL  OR  FAMILY
MEMBER,  THAT  IS SCIENTIFICALLY OR MEDICALLY  BELIEVED TO PREDISPOSE AN
INDIVIDUAL OR THE OFFSPRING OF THAT INDIVIDUAL TO A PHYSICAL  OR  MENTAL
DISEASE  OR DISABILITY, OR TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH A STATISTICALLY SIGNIF-
ICANT INCREASED RISK OF DEVELOPMENT OF A PHYSICAL OR MENTAL  DISEASE  OR
DISABILITY.
  (II)  "GENETIC TEST" SHALL MEAN A TEST FOR DETERMINING THE PRESENCE OR
ABSENCE OF AN INHERITED GENETIC CHARACTERISTIC IN AN INDIVIDUAL, INCLUD-
ING TESTS OF NUCLEIC ACIDS SUCH AS DNA, RNA AND MITOCHONDRIAL DNA, CHRO-
MOSOMES OR PROTEINS IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY A PREDISPOSING GENETIC  CHARAC-
TERISTIC.
  (B)  NO  GROUP  OR  BLANKET POLICY DELIVERED OR ISSUED FOR DELIVERY IN
THIS STATE WHICH COVERS FIFTY-ONE OR MORE EMPLOYEES AND PROVIDES  HOSPI-
TAL, MEDICAL, MAJOR MEDICAL OR SIMILAR COMPREHENSIVE-TYPE COVERAGE SHALL
EXCLUDE ANY GROUP MEMBER OR ELIGIBLE DEPENDENT OR ESTABLISH ANY RATES OR
TERMS  THEREFOR  SOLELY ON THE BASIS OF ANY PREDISPOSING GENETIC CHARAC-
TERISTIC.
  (C) NO ISSUER OF HEALTH INSURANCE  IN  THIS  STATE  SHALL  REQUIRE  OR
UTILIZE  TESTS  FOR  OR  INFORMATION ABOUT A GROUP MEMBER'S PREDISPOSING
GENETIC CHARACTERISTICS AS A PART OF THE PROCESS OF UNDERWRITING.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD09747-01-9

S. 4782                             2

  S 2. The insurance law is amended by adding a new  section  4306-c  to
read as follows:
  S 4306-C. GENETIC DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED. (A) NO CONTRACT ISSUED BY
A  HOSPITAL  SERVICE  CORPORATION, HEALTH SERVICE CORPORATION OR MEDICAL
EXPENSE INDEMNITY CORPORATION TO A GROUP OF FIFTY-ONE OR MORE  EMPLOYEES
SHALL  EXCLUDE  ANY  GROUP MEMBER OR ELIGIBLE DEPENDENT OR ESTABLISH ANY
RATES OR TERMS THEREFOR SOLELY ON THE BASIS OF ANY PREDISPOSING  GENETIC
CHARACTERISTIC.
  (B)  NO MEDICAL EXPENSE INDEMNITY CORPORATION, HOSPITAL SERVICE CORPO-
RATION OR HEALTH SERVICES CORPORATION SHALL REQUIRE OR UTILIZE TESTS FOR
OR INFORMATION ABOUT A GROUP MEMBER'S  PREDISPOSING  GENETIC  CHARACTER-
ISTICS.
  (C) AS USED IN THIS SECTION:
  (1)  "PREDISPOSING  GENETIC  CHARACTERISTIC"  SHALL MEAN ANY INHERITED
GENE OR CHROMOSOME, OR ALTERATION THEREOF, AS DETERMINED  BY  A  GENETIC
TEST  OR  INFERRED FROM INFORMATION DERIVED FROM AN INDIVIDUAL OR FAMILY
MEMBER, THAT IS SCIENTIFICALLY OR MEDICALLY  BELIEVED TO  PREDISPOSE  AN
INDIVIDUAL  OR  THE OFFSPRING OF THAT INDIVIDUAL TO A PHYSICAL OR MENTAL
DISEASE OR DISABILITY, OR TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH A STATISTICALLY  SIGNIF-
ICANT  INCREASED  RISK OF DEVELOPMENT OF A PHYSICAL OR MENTAL DISEASE OR
DISABILITY.
  (2) "GENETIC TEST" SHALL MEAN A TEST FOR DETERMINING THE  PRESENCE  OR
ABSENCE OF AN INHERITED GENETIC CHARACTERISTIC IN AN INDIVIDUAL, INCLUD-
ING TESTS OF NUCLEIC ACIDS SUCH AS DNA, RNA AND MITOCHONDRIAL DNA, CHRO-
MOSOMES  OR PROTEINS IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY A PREDISPOSING GENETIC CHARAC-
TERISTIC.
  S 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
have become a law, and shall apply to all policies and contracts issued,
renewed, modified, altered or amended on or after such effective date.

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