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History
- Referred to health
- Committed to rules
- Starred on calendar
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.969
- Referred to health
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S3525
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to health care practitioner volunteer pilot programs
Purpose
This bill would permit the establishment of a pilot program in Nassau County to demonstrate the delivery of free basis primary health care services to uninsured low income individuals by volunteer physicians and other volunteer health care professionals.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 amends Section 260 of the Public Health Law to include Nassau County to the list of eligible locations for a health care practitioner pilot program.
Section 2 is the effective date.
Existing law
Existing law requires that health care services be delivered by an entity licensed by the State Department of Health, such as a hospital, clinic, or doctor's office. Compliance with such licensure requirements places an unneeded administrative burden on small volunteer programs seeking to deliver free care to uninsured low income individuals. In 2002, chapter 337 of the Laws of 2002 was passed to permit the Commissioner to waive, modify, or suspend rules and regulations which would impede the successful implementation of a health care practitioner pilot program in the county of Schenectady. In 2006 this program became permanent. This law would allow expansion of the pilot program in Nassau County.
Justification
In spite of New York's extraordinary efforts to extend health care coverage broadly throughout the population, there are pockets of uninsured low-income individuals who have little access to primary health care. One approach to solving this problem involves volunteer physicians and other health care professionals who offer free basic primary care, typically working from sites which serve homeless and other low-income persons. Since its inception, the Schenectady Free Clinic has been an example of a program that has provided comprehensive, free, health care to its community, through the diligence and dedication of volunteers in the area. The Clinic has provided tens of thousands physician visits, laboratory tests, and prescriptions to uninsured residents of its county. This legislation would allow a similar pilot program to begin operations in Nassau County.
Legislative history
A version of this bill was S.2823 of 2009-2010 A version of this bill was S.4459 of 2007-2008
Fiscal implications
The availability of a volunteer program will likely reduce inappropriate emergency room use by uninsured persons, reducing costs to hospitals and to the Bad Debt and Charity Care Pool.
Local fiscal implications
May reduce local costs incurred by treating uninsured individuals on an emergency basis.
Effective date
Immediate.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.