Authorizes physicians, optometrists and ophthalmic dispensers to establish professional service corporations, limited liability companies and registered partnerships

Summary of provisions

Section 1 of the bill would amend Business Corporation Law § 1503(a) to authorize one or more individuals licensed in New York State to practice medicine, optometry or ophthalmic, dispensing to organize a professional service corporation.

Section 2 would amend Business Corporation Law § 1529 to provide that foreign professional service corporations organized to practice ophthalmology, optometry and/or ophthalmic dispensing shall not be authorized to be a member or partner of a professional service limited liability company, a foreign professional service limited liability company, a registered limited liability partnership or a foreign limited liability partnership unless all of its shareholders, directors and officers are licensed to practice medicine, optometry, and/or ophthalmic dispensing in this state.

Section 3 would amend Limited Liability Company Law § 1203(a) to authorize individuals providing ophthalmologic, optometric or ophthalmic dispensing services to organize a professional service limited liability company, provided they are licensed to practice medicine, optometry and/or ophthalmic dispensing.

Section 4 would amend Limited Liability Company Law § 1207(b) to authorize individuals providing ophthalmologic, optometric or ophthalmic dispensing services to organize a professional service limited liability company, provided they are licensed to practice medicine, optometry and/or ophthalmic dispensing.

Section 5 would amend Limited Liability Company Law § 1301 (a) to authorize individuals providing ophthalmologic, optometric or ophthalmic dispensing services to organize a foreign professional service limited liability company, provided they are licensed to practice medicine, optometry and/or ophthalmic dispensing.

Section 6 would amend Partnership Law § 121-1500( q) to authorize individuals providing ophthalmologic, optometric or ophthalmic dispensing services to organize a registered limited liability

partnership, provided they are licensed to practice medicine, optometry and/or ophthalmic dispensing.

Section 7 would amend Partnership Law § 121-1502(q) to authorize individuals providing ophthalmologic, optometric or ophthalmic dispensing services to organize a foreign limited liability partnership, provided they are licensed to practice medicine, optometry and/or ophthalmic dispensing.

Section 8 provides the effective date.

Existing law

Current law provides that one or more individuals who render the same professional service may organize a professional service corporation. In addition, while the law generally permits members of different professions to form a single professional limited liability company or partnership, the statute currently prohibits certain professionals, including physicians, from forming limited liability entities with licensed professionals from other disciplines.

Justification

The purpose of this bill is to authorize these separately licensed professionals - ophthalmologists, optometrists, and ophthalmic dispensers - to join together to own and operate a single professional practice where patients can seek treatment and care. A number of multi-disciplinary practices have already been established throughout the State that permit "one-stop" shopping for eye care services. Practitioners who have entered into these practices believe patients may benefit from being able to access the full array of eye care services at a single location, where an ophthalmologist, an optometrist and an ophthalmic dispenser (or optician) practice collaborative/y. Although these practitioners are currently permitted to practice together, current law precludes physicians (including ophthalmologists) from entering into practices that would be jointly owned with other professionals, such as optometrists and opticians.

The current law is unreasonably restrictive and serves no legitimate public purpose. There is no evidence that jointly owned practices are any less committed to the best interests of their patients than single profession-owned practices or existing multi-disciplinary practices. In the absence of any legitimate public health or patient protection concern, the decision whether health care professionals should jointly own a practice is properly a decision for the relevant professionals. This bill would not require professionals to form multi-disciplinary professional corporations or limited liability companies or partnerships, and many professionals from each of these licensing categories may prefer to maintain separate practices. This bill would merely remove an artificial impediment to joint ownership and permit those who would choose to provide their professional services in a collaboratively owned and operated practice to do so, consistent with a growing majority of other states.

This bill would make New York law consistent with the practice in at least twenty-six other states, including New Jersey, Ohio, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New Hampshire, which allow optometrists to form professional corporations with other health care professionals. As the trend to authorize such multi-disciplinary professional corporations among health care professionals increases _ particularly in the northeast United States - it is vital that New York continue its national leadership in providing these professionals with the option to form practices that may be best suited to meeting the needs of their patients.

Legislative history

2008: S.7269

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.