What's happening
Writing a plain-English summary… Track this bill to get it by email.
Why it matters
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to investigations and government operations
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S2243
Title of bill
An act to amend the legislative law, in relation to cost/benefit analysis for mandated health insurance benefit bills
Summary of provisions
This bill would amend the legislative law by adding a new section 54-b to require a cost/benefit analysis of any mandated health benefit bill which is to be considered by the legislature. A mandated health insurance benefit bill is defined as: a bill which mandates health insurance coverage or the offering of such coverage for specific health services, health care providers or diseases as part of an individual or group accident/health insurance policy or Article 43 contract. The bill requires that any such bill which is to be considered for passage by the legislature be accompanied by a separate, independent statement on the cost of the bill as well as the relative need which has been demonstrated for the bill.
Read the full memo (620 words)
The cost/benefit analysis is to be conducted by the Insurance Department and will include, but not be limited to, the following information:
The extent to which - the medical care addressed in the bill is available to and utilized by the general population;
-insurance coverage for such medical care is currently available;
-lack of coverage may result in an individual not receiving necessary medical care or incurring financial hardship upon receiving such care;
-the bill's implementation may have an impact on the future cost or utilization of such medical care; ·
-such coverage might serve as an alternative to more expensive medical care;
-the coverage might affect the future number and types of providers of such medical care;
-such coverage might impact the cost of insurance premiums or administrative expenses to insureds, insurers and employers.
Justification
There are currently a large number of bills pending for consideration in the legislature which, if enacted, would further expand the amount of health insurance coverages mandated by law.
There are bills to require inpatient treatment of alcoholism, treatment for the mentally disabled, well-baby treatment, infertility treatment, PAP smears, procreative services for veterans, bone marrow transplant procedures, treatment for victims of Alzheimer's Disease and treatment by home dialysis technicians, speech language pathologists and psychiatric mental health nurses. Many of these bills may be worthy of enactment when considering the long-range cost savings to employers or the social need for such coverage.
However, some of these bills may not be so feasible and may further add to the cost of providing or affording health care insurance. It is necessary for lawmakers to have access to in-depth analyses of these proposals in order that they may make responsible decisions as to their merit. Given the current crisis in the affordability and availability of health insurance, the necessity for each one of these bills must be weighed carefully.
This bill would require an independent cost/benefit analysis of the proposal before one of these bills can be enacted into law. The analysis, which would be done by the State Insurance Department, would provide legislators with comprehensive information on the need for such coverage by the general population, as well as the cost to insureds and employers alike. Bills similar to this one have been implemented in at least eighteen different states and have worked to prevent the enactment of frivolous mandated benefits legislation.
Fiscal implications
None to the state. Even if additional funding is necessary for the Insurance Department to implement this bill, the operating expenses of the Department are currently paid by the assessments collected against domestic insurance carriers and by insurance examination fees.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the 120th day after it shall have become a law, provided that the Insurance Department has promulgated all the rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of this act.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.