Statement from State Senator Gustavo Rivera On Bill To Expand Medicaid Coverage To Include Blood Based Allergy Testing Passes the Senate Finance Committee

(Albany, NY) - Today, State Senator Gustavo Rivera released the following statement after bill S1222 passed the New York State Senate’s Finance Committee. This bill, sponsored by Assemblymember Nick Perry in the New York State Assembly, will ensure critical access to blood allergy testing, in addition to the already covered skin prick testing, for Medicaid recipients seeking to determine a potential allergy condition. The bill is now eligible to be placed on the Senate Active list. 

"As the Ranking Member of the New York State Senate Health Committee and sponsor of this bill, I am proud that my colleagues have joined me in pushing it towards the next step of the legislative process,” said State Senator Gustavo Rivera. “This common sense measure will ensure that Medicaid patients across New York State have greater and easier access to different options of allergy testing, allowing them to identify and treat their allergies faster and reducing unnecessary emergency room visits. In doing so, our State is taking the appropriate steps to help reduce the health disparities that continue to plague low-income and minority communities. I’m committed to working diligently with my colleagues in both houses to make this bill into law."