NY State Senate Bill 2025-S3359

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health 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
Jan 27, 2025	referred to health

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2025-S3359 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A1691
Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §2999-dd, Pub Health L; amd Part V §7, Chap 57 of 2022
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S6733, A7316

2025-S3359 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Expands health care services provided by telehealth to include services delivered through a facility licensed under article twenty-eight of the public health law that is eligible to be designated or has received a designation as a federally qualified health center, including those facilities that are also licensed under article thirty-one or article thirty-two of the mental hygiene law.

2025-S3359 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S3359

SPONSOR: RIVERA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to expanding health
care services provided by telehealth; and to amend part V of chapter 57
of the laws of 2022, amending the public health law and the insurance
law relating to reimbursement for commercial and Medicaid services
provided via telehealth, in relation to the effectiveness thereof

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Corrects the methodology by which Medicaid reimburses community health
centers for telehealth services, to be aligned with other providers that
are paid through a bundled payment.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 2999-dd of the Public Health Law (PHL), as it
relates to telehealth delivery of services, to ensure that all Federally
Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) that are licensed pursuant to Article

28 of PHL, including those that also hold licenses under the Mental
Hygiene Law, are sufficiently reimbursed for telehealth services.

Section 2 amends section 7 of Part V of Chapter 57 of the laws of 2022,
updating provisions regarding telehealth reimbursement for an additional
two years from April 1, 2026, until April 1, 2028.

Section 3 provides an effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

FQHCs also known as community health centers (CHCs), are located in
medically underserved neighborhoods, providing quality and affordable
healthcare services to all, regardless of immigration status, insurance
coverage, or ability to pay. CHCs act as an access point to quality
healthcare services, particularly for low-income communities and commu-
nities of color. Among CHC patients, 89% are low-income, 68% are Black,
Hispanic/Latinx, or otherwise people of color, 13% are uninsured, and
59% are enrolled in Medicaid or Child Health Plus.  This patient popu-
lation has disproportionately experienced poor health outcomes due to
pervasive structural inequities that have led to health disparities that
were further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

CHCs have been able to combat these inequities by offering telehealth
services. Telehealth decreases access barriers that can inhibit
patients' ability to visit a provider, such as lack of transportation,
childcare issues, or time off from work. CHCs have found fewer
"no-shows" for telehealth visits, especially for behavioral health
visits. However, due to an inequity in current law that prevents CHCs
with an Article 28 license from being fully reimbursed when conducting
services via telehealth if both the patient and provider are outside of
the facility, CHCs relying on telehealth options are facing financial
distress. CHCs bill a bundled payment rate and there are no separate
professional fee schedules or facility fees that CHCs may bill. Existing
law recognizes mental hygiene law Article 31 and 32 clinics bill using
Ambulatory Patient Groups - a bundled payment rate similar to that used
by CHCs - and statutorily exempts those clinics from the facility fee
restriction. Instead, those mental hygiene providers are receiving a
standard bundled rate regardless of whether the service is provided via
telehealth or in person, and regardless of where the patient or provider
is located.

The Department of Health has interpreted the current law to mean that
effective May 11, 2023 (the end of the federal Public Health Emergency),
CHCs will only be reimbursed at one-third of the in-person rate if the
CHC delivers services via telehealth offsite.  This will result not only
in a major financial loss for CHCs and undermine New York's goal of
advancing health equity, but severely restrict access to health
services. Implementing this lower reimbursement rate will prevent CHCs
from retaining and recruiting providers, especially behavioral health
providers, who are scarce and already in high demand. CHCs will be
forced to reduce the number of behavioral health visits in the primary
care setting available to patients and thereby limit access to care.

This legislation will ensure that CHCs with an Article 28 license are
fully reimbursed when conducting services via telehealth, regardless of
the location of both the patient and provider. This bill aligns the CHCs
that also receive bundled payments with those mental hygiene law Article
31 and 32 licensed facilities since none of these entities bill a facil-
ity fee.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2023-2024: S6733/A7316 Paulin

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill shall take effect immediately, with the provisions of section
one of the act to take effect on April 1, 2026

2025-S3359 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   3359
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 27, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  RIVERA,  BORRELLO, BROUK, CLEARE, COMRIE, COONEY,
   GALLIVAN,  GONZALEZ,   HELMING,   HINCHEY,   HOYLMAN-SIGAL,   JACKSON,
   KAVANAGH,  LIU,  MAY,  O'MARA,  ROLISON,  SALAZAR, SEPULVEDA, SKOUFIS,
   STEC, WALCZYK, WEBB, WEBER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Health

 AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to  expanding  health
   care  services  provided by telehealth; and to amend part V of chapter
   57 of the laws of 2022, amending the public health law and the  insur-
   ance  law  relating  to  reimbursement  for  commercial  and  Medicaid
   services provided via telehealth, in  relation  to  the  effectiveness
   thereof
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 2999-dd of the public health  law,
 as  amended by section 2 of part V of chapter 57 of the laws of 2022, is
 amended to read as follows:
   1. Health care services delivered by  means  of  telehealth  shall  be
 entitled  to  reimbursement under section three hundred sixty-seven-u of
 the social services law on the same basis, at the same rate, and to  the
 same  extent  the  equivalent services, as may be defined in regulations
 promulgated by  the  commissioner,  are  reimbursed  when  delivered  in
 person;  provided, however, that health care services delivered by means
 of telehealth shall not require reimbursement to a  telehealth  provider
 for  certain  costs, including but not limited to facility fees or costs
 reimbursed through ambulatory patient groups or other clinic  reimburse-
 ment  methodologies  set  forth in section twenty-eight hundred seven of
 this chapter, if such costs were not incurred in the provision of  tele-
 health services due to neither the originating site nor the distant site
 occurring  within  a  facility  or  other  clinic  setting;  and further
 provided, however, reimbursement  for  additional  modalities,  provider
 categories  and  originating  sites specified in accordance with section
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03866-01-5

 S. 3359                             2
 
 twenty-nine hundred ninety-nine-ee of this article, and audio-only tele-
 phone communication  defined  in  regulations  promulgated  pursuant  to
 subdivision  four  of section twenty-nine hundred ninety-nine-cc of this
 article,  shall  be  contingent  upon  federal  financial participation.
 Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  this  subdivision,  for   services
 licensed, certified or otherwise authorized pursuant to article sixteen,
 article  thirty-one or article thirty-two of the mental hygiene law, AND
 FOR ANY SERVICES DELIVERED THROUGH A  FACILITY  LICENSED  UNDER  ARTICLE
 TWENTY-EIGHT  OF  THIS  CHAPTER THAT IS ELIGIBLE TO BE DESIGNATED OR HAS
 RECEIVED A DESIGNATION AS A FEDERALLY QUALIFIED HEALTH CENTER IN ACCORD-
 ANCE WITH 42 USC § 1396A(AA), AS AMENDED, OR ANY SUCCESSOR LAW  THERETO,
 INCLUDING  THOSE FACILITIES THAT ARE ALSO LICENSED UNDER ARTICLE THIRTY-
 ONE OR ARTICLE THIRTY-TWO OF  THE  MENTAL  HYGIENE  LAW,  such  services
 provided  by  telehealth[, as deemed appropriate by the relevant commis-
 sioner,] shall be reimbursed at the applicable in person rates  or  fees
 established  by law, or otherwise established or certified by the office
 for people with developmental disabilities, office of mental health,  or
 the  office  of  addiction  services  and  supports  pursuant to article
 forty-three of the mental hygiene law.
   § 2. Section 7 of part V of chapter 57 of the laws of  2022,  amending
 the  public  health  law and the insurance law relating to reimbursement
 for commercial and Medicaid services provided via telehealth, as amended
 by section 5 of part B of chapter 57 of the laws of 2024, is amended  to
 read as follows:
   §  7.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to
 have been in full force and effect on and after April 1, 2022; provided,
 however, this act shall expire and be deemed repealed on and after April
 1, [2026] 2028.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately;  provided  however,  that
 the  provisions  of  section  one of this act shall take effect April 1,
 2026; provided further, however, that the amendments to subdivision 1 of
 section 2999-dd of the public health law made by section one of this act
 shall not affect the expiration of such subdivision and shall expire and
 be deemed repealed therewith.

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Senate Bill S3359

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

co-Sponsors

2025-S3359 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S3359 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S3359 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S3359 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S3359

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Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

co-Sponsors

2025-S3359 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S3359 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S3359 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S3359 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments