S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
5499
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
February 19, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GLICK, SIMON, GOTTFRIED, GRIFFIN, L. ROSENTHAL,
EPSTEIN, OTIS, ROZIC, LUPARDO -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Health
AN ACT authorizing the commissioner of health to conduct a study and
issue a report examining the unmet health and resource needs facing
pregnant women in New York and the impact of limited service pregnancy
centers on the ability of women to obtain accurate, non-coercive
health care information and timely access to a comprehensive range of
reproductive and sexual health care services
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Definition. As used in this act, "limited services preg-
nancy center" means a facility or entity, including a mobile facility,
the primary purpose of which is to provide services to clients who are
or may be pregnant, that:
1. (a) is not a health care facility licensed by the state of New York
under article 28 of the public health law or articles 31 and 32 of the
mental hygiene law; or
(b) is not providing services under the direction of a health care
provider licensed under title 8 of the education law who is acting with-
in his or her scope of practice; and
2. fails to provide or refer for the full range of comprehensive
reproductive and sexual health care services reimbursed under the
state's Medicaid program including, but not limited to contraception,
testing and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, abortion care,
and prenatal care.
§ 2. Authorization of study and study scope. 1. The commissioner of
health (hereinafter "the commissioner") is hereby authorized and
directed to conduct a study and issue a report examining the unmet
health and resource needs facing pregnant women in New York and the
impact of limited service pregnancy centers on the ability of women to
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02570-01-1
A. 5499 2
obtain accurate, non-coercive health care information and timely access
to a comprehensive range of reproductive and sexual health care services
in alignment with their health care needs and that supports personal
decision-making.
2. The commissioner may request, and shall receive upon request, data
and information from such entities and other relevant sources to meet
the purposes of the study. This information shall include but not be
limited to:
(a) what state and/or federal funds or tax or other subsidies, if any,
are directly or indirectly allocated to limited service pregnancy
centers in the state and the names and locations of such organizations
receiving government funding;
(b) whether the limited service pregnancy centers in the state are
part of larger umbrella organizations that operate limited service preg-
nancy centers across the country, and if so, whether those umbrella
organizations receive state and/or federal funding;
(c) the services provided by limited service pregnancy centers and
what services are most frequently sought at limited service pregnancy
centers;
(d) the number of women who access services at limited service preg-
nancy centers, the geographic regions in which each woman accessing the
services of these centers resides, the distance to the nearest licensed
medical facility providing these services, the prices charged for such
services, and the basic demographic information about each woman,
including race, age, and marital status. Basic demographic information
included in any report shall be published in the aggregate so that it is
impossible to identify any particular individual;
(e) whether pregnancy centers hold themselves out to the public,
either in person, through community participation or events or through
their advertising or websites, as medical facilities or entities in
which comprehensive, all-options pregnancy counseling is provided;
(f) whether women seeking or accessing services at limited service
pregnancy centers are seeking comprehensive options counseling or
services at medical facilities and whether women have experienced a
delay in receiving health care, including abortion or the initiation of
prenatal care, due to a visit to a limited service pregnancy center;
(g) whether limited service pregnancy centers enroll women in any
public benefits programs or connect women to other services, and if so,
which services limited service pregnancy centers connect women to;
(h) the nature of information given to clients or potential clients at
pregnancy centers and the nature of limited service pregnancy centers'
operational manuals, handbooks or guidelines in connection to the
provision of services to clients;
(i) the number of state-certified medical professionals on staff or
volunteering at limited service pregnancy centers and the number who are
providing medical services or counseling on site during regular business
hours at limited service pregnancy centers and whether pregnancy centers
inform women whether or not they have any medical professionals on the
premises, on staff, or in a volunteer capacity; and
(j) whether limited service pregnancy centers collect medical informa-
tion and what other information is collected upon intake, how limited
service pregnancy centers handle medical and other client records, and
whether the medical records are in compliance with federal and state
requirements governing medical privacy.
§ 3. Study timeline and taskforce structure. The study will commence
no later than six months following the effective date of this act. The
A. 5499 3
commissioner shall establish a temporary taskforce of nine members to
support the department of health in the development of the study, the
review of the findings and the establishment of specific recommendations
for solutions to address any service gaps or negative impact in the
state identified through the study. The taskforce shall have adequate
geographical representation and include but not necessarily be limited
to: a representative of the division of consumer protection; a member of
the New York state department of health advisory council on maternal
mortality and morbidity; a member of American college of obstetricians
and gynecologists whose practice includes the provision of all pregnancy
related care, including birth and termination of pregnancy; an individ-
ual with professional experience in the fields of reproductive rights,
health and/or justice; a member with professional experience and exper-
tise in the first amendment and free speech rights; and a staff member
from the Bureau Of Social Justice within the office of the New York
state attorney general. The taskforce shall be appointed as follows:
three members to be appointed by the governor; three members to be
appointed by the temporary president of the senate; and three members to
be appointed by the speaker of the assembly. The commissioner shall
issue a report to the governor and the legislature, and publish the
report on its public website, containing the findings and policy recom-
mendations no later than eighteen months following the effective date of
this act. The report may include de-identified patient information in
the aggregate, but shall not include personally identifiable informa-
tion.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.