NY State Senate Bill 2025-S4566

Senate Bill S4566

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to the rights of patients to receive medical information in an understandable format

download bill text pdf

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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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 07, 2025	referred to health

2025-S4566 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§2803 & 2803-c, Pub Health L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S7094
2023-2024: S2321

2025-S4566 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to the rights of patients to receive medical information in an understandable format; provides that such information and documents shall avoid the use of medical terminology and instead use words with common and everyday meanings to facilitate understandability.

2025-S4566 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S4566

SPONSOR: BAILEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to the rights of
patients to receive medical information in an understandable format

 
PURPOSE:

To ensure that patients understand the medical information and care
recommendations provided to them.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill amends subdivision 1 of section 2803 of the
public health law by requiring that the statement of patient rights and
responsibilities shall inform patients of their right to receive infor-
mation and documents pertaining to their discharge, diagnosis, treatment
or test results in plain English or in a language or format that is
understandable to them or their family or caregiver. Section two makes
the same amendments to subdivision three of section 2803-c of the public

health law. Both sections specify that documents given to patients that
satisfy the requirements of the bill will be in addition to the informa-
tion and documents they ordinarily receive.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Though New York State has robust protections in place for patients,
medical professionals' use of medical terminology, which patients may
not be able to understand, can exacerbate existing health disparities.
While there are laws and regulations in place to help facilitate
language access for patients, the Public Health Law does not specif-
ically address the issue of understandability. This bill requires that
hospitals consider both language access and understandability when
relaying pertinent medical information to patients.

 
FISCAL IMPACT:

None.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-22: S7094 - Referred to Health

2023-24: 52321 - Referred to Health

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law, with an immediate effective date for rule
changes.

2025-S4566 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4566
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 7, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  BAILEY -- 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  the  rights  of
   patients to receive medical information in an understandable format
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 2803 of the public health  law  is
 amended by adding a new paragraph (m) to read as follows:
   (M)  THE  STATEMENT  REGARDING  PATIENT  RIGHTS  AND RESPONSIBILITIES,
 REQUIRED PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (G) OF THIS SUBDIVISION, SHALL INCLUDE  A
 PROVISION  INFORMING  THE  PATIENT OF THEIR RIGHT TO RECEIVE INFORMATION
 AND DOCUMENTS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO  INFORMATION  AND  DOCUMENTS
 RELATED  TO  SUCH  PATIENT'S  DISCHARGE,  DIAGNOSIS,  TREATMENT  OR TEST
 RESULTS IN PLAIN ENGLISH OR IN A LANGUAGE OR FORMAT THAT IS  UNDERSTAND-
 ABLE  TO  THE  PATIENT  OR SUCH PATIENT'S FAMILY OR CAREGIVER.  WHEREVER
 PRACTICABLE, SUCH INFORMATION AND  DOCUMENTS  SHALL  AVOID  THE  USE  OF
 MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY AND INSTEAD USE WORDS WITH COMMON AND EVERYDAY MEAN-
 INGS  TO  FACILITATE UNDERSTANDABILITY.   SUCH INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTS
 SHALL BE  IN  ADDITION  TO  THE  INFORMATION  AND  DOCUMENTS  ORDINARILY
 RECEIVED BY THE PATIENT OR SUCH PATIENT'S FAMILY OR CAREGIVER.
   §  2.  Subdivision  3  of  section  2803-c of the public health law is
 amended by adding a new paragraph s to read as follows:
   S. A STATEMENT INFORMING THE PATIENT OF THEIR RIGHT TO RECEIVE  INFOR-
 MATION AND DOCUMENTS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO INFORMATION AND DOCU-
 MENTS  RELATED TO SUCH PATIENT'S DISCHARGE, DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT OR TEST
 RESULTS IN PLAIN ENGLISH OR IN A LANGUAGE OR FORMAT THAT IS  UNDERSTAND-
 ABLE  TO  THE  PATIENT  OR SUCH PATIENT'S FAMILY OR CAREGIVER.  WHEREVER
 PRACTICABLE, SUCH INFORMATION AND  DOCUMENTS  SHALL  AVOID  THE  USE  OF
 MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY AND INSTEAD USE WORDS WITH COMMON AND EVERYDAY MEAN-
 INGS  TO  FACILITATE UNDERSTANDABILITY.   SUCH INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTS
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08671-01-5
 S. 4566                             2

 
 SHALL BE  IN  ADDITION  TO  THE  INFORMATION  AND  DOCUMENTS  ORDINARILY
 RECEIVED BY THE PATIENT OR SUCH PATIENT'S FAMILY OR CAREGIVER.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it  shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made on or
 before such date.

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