SERINO HELPS SENIORS HARNESS POWER OF TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE SENIOR HEALTH

ALBANY, NY—A bill with the potential to dramatically increase access to healthcare for those in senior living residences passed today in the Senate. The bill, sponsored by Senator Sue Serino, aims to harness the power of technology to improve senior health by bringing the benefits of telehealth and telemedicine directly to seniors residing in these locations throughout the state.  

“Some of us may remember a time when doctors made house calls,” said Senator Sue Serino, who chairs the Senate’s Aging Committee. “Telehealth and telemedicine aim to capitalize on technology to provide that same sort of high quality, individualized care in order to reduce costly hospital visits and increase access for those who would otherwise have difficulty physically attending appointments or receiving care.”

In 2015, a law was passed paving the way for New Yorkers to gain access to telehealth and telemedicine, by requiring insurance companies to cover the services that were previously only covered by in-person visits. Now, instead of patients needing to make the trip to their medical professionals, they can utilize various forms of technology to receive health care services by means of information and communications technologies, increasing access for those in rural communities, as well as those for whom transportation is a challenge.

Currently, patients must be located at licensed facilities when they receive telehealth/telemedicine services, but the law leaves out senior living residences. Senator Serino’s bill (S. 4285) amends the public health law to add assisted living facilities, adult homes, continuing care retirement communities and other senior living facilities within the state to that statute, ensuring that those who live in these facilities have access to convenient telehealth services.
 
“Expanding these important services to places that directly aid our seniors—assisted living facilities and the like—just makes sense,” Serino continued. “As the healthcare field continues to transform and evolve, it is important that we work to ensure that our laws keep up. This bill does that, and will make receiving quality healthcare significantly easier for seniors across New York State.”
 
The bill has been sent to the Assembly, where it is carried by Assemblywoman Addie Jenne (D-Theresa).    

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