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Who cares
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Sponsors
2 Co-sponsors
History
- Substituted by A7650A
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.1139
- Referred to health
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 permitting a hospice to employ and enter into contracts with licensed healthcare professionals
Signed by Governor · Sponsor Richard Gottfried
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S5554
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to permitting a hospice to employ and enter into contracts with licensed healthcare providers
Purpose
The bill extends the scope of hospice care to people with a life expectancy of twelve months from the current six, and would permit a hospice to employ or contract with licensed health care professionals to provide health care services that the hospice is authorized to provide to its patients.
Summary of provisions
The bill amends section 4002 of the Public Health Law to define "terminally ill" to mean that a patient has a medical prognosis that the individual's life expectancy is approximately one year or less if the illness runs its normal course. Current state law does not define the term, but Medicare uses a definition of six months. The bill amends section 4008 of the Public Health Law to permit hospices to directly employ or contract with licensed health care professionals to provide health care services that the hospice is authorized to provide to its patients.
Justification
Studies by Kaiser Permanente, Aetna, and others have found that palliative care services improve patient satisfaction while reducing health care costs. Over time, the experience of palliative end-of-life care-giving has lengthened, partially due to medical innovations as well as an improved understanding of the death process. Several states have modified their laws to enable hospice care for up to one year. The Medicaid Redesign Team proposed a similar change for New York in MRT proposal 209.
This definition would not change what Medicare pays for, but it would allow a hospice to serve patients for payment other than by Medicare.
Hospices are authorized to contract with health care providers to provide health care services to the hospice's patients, provided that the hospice maintains full responsibility for the planning, coordination and quality of such services and the adherence to the plan of care established for the patients. However, there is concern that the rules against corporate practice of licensed professions bar a hospice from directly employing or contracting with licensed professionals.
Certain entities, such as hospitals under PHL Art. 28, may do so. This legislation would enable hospices to do the same. This would simplify and improve their operation.
Legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal implications
Medicaid savings.
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.