NY State Senate Bill 2017-S8511

Senate Bill S8511

2017-2018 Legislative Session

Relates to coverage for services related to the diagnosis and treatment of mental, nervous or emotional disorders or ailments

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

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 09, 2018	referred to insurance

2017-S8511 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Insurance
Law Section:: Insurance Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§3216, 3221 & 4303, Ins L

2017-S8511 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires insurance policies to provide coverage for services related to the diagnosis and treatment of mental, nervous or emotional disorders or ailments; makes related provisions.

2017-S8511 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S8511

SPONSOR: VALESKY
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to
coverage for services related to the diagnosis and treatment of mental,
nervous or emotional disorders or ailments

 
PURPOSE:

This legislation requires that health insurers in the State of New York
provide coverage for treatment of children at facilities owned and oper-
ated by the State Office of Mental Health (OMH). Children are defined as
being up to 18 years old.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends § 3216(i) of the Insurance Law adding new paragraph 34
to require every individual health insurance policy sold in the State to
include coverage for mental health treatment of children at State run
facilities.

Section 2: Amends § 3221(1) of the Insurance Law adding new paragraph
5-a to require every group or blanket health insurance policy solid in
the State to include coverage for mental health treatment of children at
State run facilities.

Section 3: Amends § 4303 of the Insurance Law adding new subsection g-1
to require health insurance policies issued by a non-profit hospital
service corporation or a health service corporation to include coverage
for mental health treatment of children at State run facilities.

Section 4: Establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The United States and New York State are facing a crisis in the treat-
ment of mental illness, particularly for youth. The problem is partic-
ularly acute in Central New York (CNY). In 2015, the Youth Mental Health
Taskforce was formed in CNY to try and address the issues facing mental
health treatment for children in the region. A top priority of the Task-
force was addressing the lack of in-patient beds for children in CNY.

Hutchings Psychiatric Center in Syracuse, owned and operated by the
State of New York, is the only facility in the region offering in-pa-
tient treatment for youth with mental health issues.  Unfortunately,
that facility is not open to families with private health insurance.
This forces families already in crisis to send their children to facili-
ties hours away and sometimes out-of-state.  The last private hospital
in CNY closed in 2004.

Despite the efforts of the Taskforce and local mental health advocates,
Hutchings still does not have contracts with major insurance providers
in the area. This legislation would provide immediate relief to these
families by requiring all private health insurers in New York to cover
treatment for children at OMH run facilities.

Youth mental illness is a critical issue that needs to be address
comprehensively. However, no family should be forced to send their child
hours away for treatment because an insurance company will not cover
treatment at a local facility, simply because it is State run.  This
bill is a first step in helping families dealing with mental illness get
the support they need.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to any policy
issued, delivered, renewed, and/or modified on or after the effective
date of this act.

2017-S8511 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8511
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                May 9, 2018
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. VALESKY -- 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 coverage for  services
   related to the diagnosis and treatment of mental, nervous or emotional
   disorders or ailments
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subsection (i) of section 3216  of  the  insurance  law  is
 amended by adding a new paragraph 35 to read as follows:
   (35)  EVERY  POLICY  THAT  PROVIDES  MEDICAL, MAJOR MEDICAL OR SIMILAR
 COMPREHENSIVE-TYPE COVERAGE, SHALL PROVIDE COVERAGE FOR SERVICES RELATED
 TO THE DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF MENTAL, NERVOUS OR EMOTIONAL DISORDERS
 OR AILMENTS, INCLUDING BUT NOT  LIMITED  TO  BIOLOGICALLY  BASED  MENTAL
 ILLNESSES AS DEFINED BY SUBPARAGRAPH (B) OF PARAGRAPH FIVE OF SUBSECTION
 (L) OF SECTION THREE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE OF THIS CHAPTER AND
 CHILDREN  WITH SERIOUS EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCES AS DEFINED BY SUBPARAGRAPH
 (C) OF PARAGRAPH FIVE OF SUBSECTION (L) OF SECTION  THREE  THOUSAND  TWO
 HUNDRED  TWENTY-ONE  OF  THIS CHAPTER, IN A PSYCHIATRIC CENTER UNDER THE
 JURISDICTION OF THE OFFICE OF MENTAL HEALTH OR OTHER PSYCHIATRIC  IN-PA-
 TIENT  FACILITY IN THE DEPARTMENT, AND A PSYCHIATRIC IN-PATIENT FACILITY
 MAINTAINED BY A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF  THE  STATE  FOR  THE  CARE  OR
 TREATMENT  OF  THE  MENTALLY ILL. COVERAGE REQUIRED UNDER THIS PARAGRAPH
 MUST BY AT LEAST EQUAL TO COVERAGE PROVIDED IN SUCH POLICY FOR THE DIAG-
 NOSIS AND  TREATMENT  OF  MENTAL,  NERVOUS  OR  EMOTIONAL  DISORDERS  OR
 AILMENTS WITH NO ADDITIONAL COST SHARING.
   § 2. Subsection (l) of section 3221 of the insurance law is amended by
 adding a new paragraph 5-a to read as follows:
   (5-A)  EVERY  POLICY  THAT  PROVIDES MEDICAL, MAJOR MEDICAL OR SIMILAR
 COMPREHENSIVE-TYPE COVERAGE, SHALL PROVIDE COVERAGE FOR SERVICES RELATED
 TO THE DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF MENTAL, NERVOUS OR EMOTIONAL DISORDERS
 OR AILMENTS, INCLUDING BUT NOT  LIMITED  TO  BIOLOGICALLY  BASED  MENTAL
 ILLNESSES  AS  DEFINED  BY  SUBPARAGRAPH  (B)  OF PARAGRAPH FIVE OF THIS
 SUBSECTION AND CHILDREN WITH SERIOUS EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCES  AS  DEFINED
 BY SUBPARAGRAPH (C) OF PARAGRAPH FIVE OF THIS SUBSECTION, IN A PSYCHIAT-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10243-03-8

 S. 8511                             2

 RIC  CENTER  UNDER  THE  JURISDICTION  OF THE OFFICE OF MENTAL HEALTH OR
 OTHER PSYCHIATRIC IN-PATIENT FACILITY IN THE DEPARTMENT, AND A PSYCHIAT-
 RIC IN-PATIENT FACILITY MAINTAINED BY A  POLITICAL  SUBDIVISION  OF  THE
 STATE  FOR  THE CARE OR TREATMENT OF THE MENTALLY ILL. COVERAGE REQUIRED
 UNDER THIS PARAGRAPH MUST BE AT LEAST EQUAL TO COVERAGE PROVIDED IN SUCH
 POLICY FOR THE DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF MENTAL, NERVOUS  OR  EMOTIONAL
 DISORDERS OR AILMENTS WITH NO ADDITIONAL COST SHARING.
   §  3.  Section  4303  of  the insurance law is amended by adding a new
 subsection (g-1) to read as follows:
   (G-1) EVERY CONTRACT THAT PROVIDES MEDICAL, MAJOR MEDICAL  OR  SIMILAR
 COMPREHENSIVE-TYPE COVERAGE, SHALL PROVIDE COVERAGE FOR SERVICES RELATED
 TO THE DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF MENTAL, NERVOUS OR EMOTIONAL DISORDERS
 OR  AILMENTS,  INCLUDING  BUT  NOT  LIMITED TO BIOLOGICALLY BASED MENTAL
 ILLNESSES AS DEFINED BY SUBPARAGRAPH (B) OF PARAGRAPH TWO OF  SUBSECTION
 (G)  OF THIS SECTION AND CHILDREN WITH SERIOUS EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCES AS
 DEFINED BY PARAGRAPH THREE OF SUBSECTION  (G)  OF  THIS  SECTION,  IN  A
 PSYCHIATRIC CENTER UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE OFFICE OF MENTAL HEALTH
 OR  OTHER  PSYCHIATRIC  IN-PATIENT  FACILITY  IN  THE  DEPARTMENT, AND A
 PSYCHIATRIC IN-PATIENT FACILITY MAINTAINED BY A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF
 THE STATE FOR THE CARE  OR  TREATMENT  OF  THE  MENTALLY  ILL.  COVERAGE
 REQUIRED  UNDER  THIS  PARAGRAPH  MUST  BE  AT  LEAST  EQUAL TO COVERAGE
 PROVIDED IN SUCH POLICY FOR THE DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF MENTAL, NERV-
 OUS OR EMOTIONAL DISORDERS OR AILMENTS WITH NO ADDITIONAL COST SHARING.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  apply  to  any
 policy  issued,  delivered,  renewed,  and/or  modified  on or after the
 effective date of this act.

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