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Who cares
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Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to insurance
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Relates to ambulance subscription or membership programs
In Assembly Committee · Insurance · Sponsor Albert A. Stirpe
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to ambulance subscription or membership programs
Purpose or general idea of bill
This bill legitimizes ambulance subscriptions or membership programs, arrangements in which a person pays an ambulance service an annual fee so that the participant in such a program will not incur any out of pocket expenses if ambulance services are needed.
Summary of specific provisions
Adds new section 1124 to the insurance law, which exempts voluntary ambulance services from the licensing requirements set forth in Article 11 of the insurance law if 1) such a service is available to anyone and 2) the entity or representative of the ambulance subscription notifies the participant that the service provider is not contractually obligated to provide an ambulance every time a participant makes such a request. Furthermore, the participant must acknowledge this qualification in writing prior to paying for such services.
Justification
This bill is necessary to legitimize the use of ambulance subscriptions and membership programs that are not only helpful and cost-saving for participants, but also constitute an important funding source for volunteer ambulance services.
Ambulance services across New York State have utilized such programs to finance their operations. A number of these programs were reviewed by the Insurance Department in the 1980s and 1990s and were deemed to be in compliance with the Insurance Laws. However, opinions issued by the Insurance Department in 2001 and investigations commenced by the Attorney General's Office in 2009 caused many ambulance companies, fearing administrative action or legal prosecution, to terminate such programs, despite the fact that no law exists that specifically prohibits such services and no formal charges or complaints have ever been filed. As a result, ambulance companies have suffered substantial loss of income. Voluntary, non-profit ambulance services tend that to serve rural and less populated areas have been particularly impacted by cessation of ambulance subscription programs.
It is worth noting that several other states allow ambulance subscription programs, many of which are operated by city and county governments, and the united States Fire Administration, a unit of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, recommends such programs as a funding source for fire and EMS services.
Prior legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.