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History
- Referred to insurance
- Referred to insurance
Full text
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Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the insurance law, the workers' compensation law, the volunteer ambulance workers' benefit law, and the volunteer firefighters' benefit law, in relation to prohibiting certain limitations or exclusions regarding massage therapy
Purpose
The purpose of this bill is to provide for the coverage of massage therapy services in health insurance policies and to ensure that massage therapy services are available for the treatment of injured workers who make claim for such services through the workers' compensation system.
Summary of provisions
Section 1. Amends Section 3216 of the Insurance Law to require individual insurance policies for hospital, surgical or medical care to cover and include in such coverage massage therapy as provided by a licensed massage therapist who is acting within the lawful scope of. his practice.
Read the full memo (796 words)
Section 2. Amends Subsection (k) of section 3221 of the Insurance Law to require group health insurance policies that provide reimbursement for hospital, surgical or medical care to include coverage for massage therapy services provided by a licensed massage therapist.
Section 3. Amends Section 4303 of the Insurance Law to provide coverage of massage therapy services performed by a licensed massage therapist under health service or medical indemnity corporation contracts.
Section 4. Amends Section 13-f Subdivision 1 of the Workers' Compensation Law as amended by chapter 353 of the Laws of 1990, to provide that massage therapy services shall be made available for compensable treatment for workers' compensation claimants as properly prescribed by their treating physicians.
Section 5. Amends the Workers' Compensation Law by adding a new section 13-0, to provide that workers' compensation claimants may receive massage therapy treatment as a mode of compensable medical treatment that has been recognized as an effective mode of treatment and made available to benefit recipients through the worker's compensation system.
Section 6. Amends Section 13-n subdivision 1 of the Workers' Compensation Law, as added by chapter 473 of the laws of 2000, adding section thirteen-p for the performance of independent medical examinations.
Section 7. Amends Section 25 paragraph f as subdivision 1 of the Workers' Compensation Law, as amended by chapter 635 of the laws of 1996, adding thirteen-p relating to the payment of disputed funds for reopened cases.
Section 8. Amends Section 25 subparagraph 2 of paragraph (a) of subdivision 2-b of the Workers' Compensation Law regarding conciliation.
Section 9. Amends Section 26-a paragraph a subdivision 1 of the Workers' Compensation Law as amended by chapter 316 of the laws of 1991 regarding the filing of a claim of compensation. Section 10. Amends Section 232 of the Workers' Compensation Law as amended by chapter 270 of the laws of 1990, regarding fees for physicians, podiatrists and other health care professionals.
Section 11. Amends Section 16 as amended by chapter 353 of the laws of 1990 regarding treatment and care of volunteer ambulance workers.
Section 12. Amends Section 16 as amended by chapter 353 of the laws of 1990 regarding treatment and care of volunteer firefighters injured in the line of duty.
Section 13. Provides that this act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law and shall apply to policies and contracts issued, renewed, modified, altered or amended on or after such date.
Justification
Currently, various health professionals such as chiropractors, acupuncturists, registered nurses, and physical therapists are able to perform therapeutic massage when prescribed by a physician, even though their training in most cases does not exceed ten to fifteen hours in this particular field. By the time massage school graduates sit for their state exam, they have already completed between 672 and 1,000 hours of intensive training.
It is clearly in the best interest of the health care consumer, as well as that of the physician who prescribes specific massage treatment plans, to have such treatment performed by the licensed health care professional who currently has the highest degree of training and expertise, namely the licensed massage therapist.
As of this date, the profession of massage therapy is the only licensed health profession in New York State which is not listed with either the New York Insurance Law or the Workers' Compensation Law. This legislation would add massage therapy as a regular component of health care policies in New York State. This legislation would provide a greater range of health care options that are available to the public and promotes the practice of massage therapy services in New York.
Legislative history
2005/06: Referred to Insurance. 2007/08: Referred to Insurance
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect 90 days after it shall become law and shall apply to certain policies and contracts issued, renewed, modified, altered or amended on or after such date.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.