NY State Senate Bill 2021-S4225

Senate Bill S4225

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Directs the department of financial services to study health insurance coverage through the Marketplace

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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 03, 2021	referred to insurance

2021-S4225 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A3590
Current Committee:: Senate Insurance
Law Section:: Financial Services
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S6207, A8162
2023-2024: S6968, A867
2025-2026: A1912

2021-S4225 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Directs the department of financial services to study health insurance coverage through the Marketplace, including collecting data on how many people are insured, and studying the feasibility of creating programs, subsidies, and/or tax credits to help expand health care coverage.

2021-S4225 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S4225

SPONSOR: BENJAMIN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to direct the department of financial services to study health
insurance coverage through the Marketplace

 
PURPOSE:

To determine the feasibility of increasing assistance to those who have
no health insurance in order to reduce the number of the uninsured.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

§ 1 Instructs the Department of Financial Services to conduct a study of
the healthcare marketplace.

§ 2 lays out the particulars the study shall report upon, as follows:

(a) collecting data on how many people are currently uninsured in New

York state and the reasons for their being uninsured including, but not
limited to, those eligible for public assistance programs, those ineli-
gible to purchase insurance because of their immigration status, and
those who choose to go uninsured because of financial reasons; and

(b) the feasibility of creating programs, subsidies, and/or tax credits
to help expand health insurance coverage in New York state to uninsured
individuals including, but not limited to, the costs and effectiveness
of instituting such new programs, subsidies, and/or tax credits. Such
new programs shall include but shall not be limited to:

(i) an individual state-level insurance mandate;
(ii) a state supplemental premium tax credit to supplement the current
federal tax credit; and
(iii) a state premium tax credit for those not eligible to access the
federal tax credit because of their immigration status or income.

§ 3 orders that the results shall be reported to the governor and legis-
lature 18 months after passage.

 
EXISTING LAW:

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The federal Affordable Care Act of 2010 has had a revolutionary effect
on health care in the United States. However, anecdotal evidence indi-
cates that the system of subsidies and credits to help people of more
modest means to afford buying health insurance on the Act's Healthcare
Marketplace might not be sufficient.

It is in the public interest to reach full insurance coverage for all
people, but in order for New York State to reach this goal, it will be
necessary to determine both the scope and potential gains of changing
the support for the affordable care act would be.

This bill directs the Department of Financial Services to determine how
many New Yorkers are uninsured because they cannot afford the premiums

for such insurance, and to determine the feasibility of increasing
assistance to help the uninsured become insured.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2019-20: S6207/ A 8162

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Minimal

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately

2021-S4225 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4225
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 3, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. BENJAMIN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Insurance
 
 AN ACT to direct the department of financial services  to  study  health
   insurance coverage through the Marketplace
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. 1. The department of financial services is  hereby  author-
 ized  and directed to study the feasibility and impact of increasing the
 subsidy provided  to  individuals  who  purchase  health  care  coverage
 through  the Marketplace. For purposes of this section the term "Market-
 place" shall have the same meaning as defined in section  268-a  of  the
 public health law.
   2. Such study shall include, but shall not be limited to:
   (a)  collecting data on how many people are currently uninsured in New
 York state and the reasons for their being uninsured including, but  not
 limited  to, those eligible for public assistance programs, those ineli-
 gible to purchase insurance because of  their  immigration  status,  and
 those who choose to go uninsured because of financial reasons; and
   (b)  the feasibility of creating programs, subsidies, and/or tax cred-
 its to help expand health insurance coverage in New York state to  unin-
 sured  individuals  including,  but not limited to, the costs and effec-
 tiveness  of  instituting  such  new  programs,  subsidies,  and/or  tax
 credits.  Such  new  programs shall include but shall not be limited to:
 (i) an individual state-level insurance mandate; (ii)  a  state  supple-
 mental  premium tax credit to supplement the current federal tax credit;
 and (iii) a state premium tax credit for those not  eligible  to  access
 the federal tax credit because of their immigration status or income.
   3. No later than eighteen months after the effective date of this act,
 the department of financial services shall report to the legislature and
 the  governor on the findings of the study conducted pursuant to section
 one of this act and any legislative recommendations deemed to be  neces-
 sary.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00899-01-1

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