S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9204
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 16, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Health
 
 AN  ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to the hospital-home
   care-physician collaboration program
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Legislative intent. The legislature recognizes and reiter-
 ates that the intent of section 2805-x of the public health  law  is  to
 establish  a  framework  to  support  voluntary initiatives that improve
 patient care access and management. The statute authorizes the waiver of
 regulations by the commissioner of health in  order  to  accomplish  the
 purposes  of  the  approved  initiatives. However, the statute was never
 intended to allow the waiver of statutory obligations, including  statu-
 tory obligations related to the certificate of need process.  Similarly,
 the  statute  was not intended to allow the approval of projects without
 public notice that would otherwise be required, as notification and  the
 opportunity to offer comments on proposed projects are critical elements
 in  determining  the  worthiness  of any application claiming to meet an
 unmet or new need. Accordingly, the intent of  this  act  is  to  ensure
 public  notice  and  opportunity  to  comment on projects to be approved
 under public health law section 2805-x prior to approval, and to clarify
 that statutory certificate of need obligations continue to apply to such
 projects.
   § 2. Subdivision 3 of section 2805-x of  the  public  health  law,  as
 added  by  section  48  of  part B of chapter 57 of the laws of 2015, is
 amended to read as follows:
   3. (A) The commissioner is authorized to provide financing  including,
 but not limited to, grants or positive adjustments in medical assistance
 rates  or  premium  payments, to the extent of funds available and allo-
 cated or appropriated therefor, including funds provided  to  the  state
 through  federal  waivers,  funds made available through state appropri-
 ations and/or funding through section twenty-eight  hundred  seven-v  of
 this  article,  as well as waivers of regulations under title ten of the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD14436-01-4
              

 A. 9204                             2
 
 New York codes, rules and regulations, to support the  voluntary  initi-
 atives and objectives of this section.
   (B)  NO  APPLICATION FOR A WAIVER OF ANY REGULATION UNDER TITLE TEN OF
 THE NEW YORK CODES, RULES AND  REGULATIONS  SHALL  BE  APPROVED  BY  THE
 COMMISSIONER UNLESS, PRIOR TO BEING APPROVED, NOTICE OF SUCH APPLICATION
 SHALL  BE  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  SECRETARY OF STATE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE
 STATE REGISTER, AND THE PUBLIC  SHALL  BE  AFFORDED  AN  OPPORTUNITY  TO
 SUBMIT  COMMENTS  ON  THE APPLICATION, AT LEAST SIXTY DAYS PRIOR TO SUCH
 APPROVAL, CONSISTENT WITH SECTION TWO HUNDRED TWO OF THE STATE  ADMINIS-
 TRATIVE PROCEDURE ACT.
   (C)  IN  NO  EVENT SHALL ANY WAIVER OF A REGULATION UNDER TITLE TEN OF
 THE NEW YORK CODES, RULES AND  REGULATIONS  INCLUDE  THE  WAIVER  OF  AN
 APPLICANT'S OBLIGATION TO MEET PUBLIC NEED, CHARACTER AND COMPETENCE, OR
 FINANCIAL  FEASIBILITY  REQUIREMENTS  PURSUANT  TO SECTIONS TWENTY-EIGHT
 HUNDRED ONE-A, THIRTY-SIX HUNDRED SIX OR  FOUR  THOUSAND  FOUR  OF  THIS
 CHAPTER.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.