Provides managed care enrollees access to the services of the foot center of New York

Summary of provisions

Section one reletters clause (F) of section 364-j(4)(a)(iii) of the Social Services Law to (G) and adds a new clause (F) to mandate the reporting of services provided at an academic podiatry center. Any diagnostic or treatment center providing podiatric services must report to the Governor, Temporary Senate President and Assembly Speaker on the number of visits made by medical assistance recipients at each facility, and that number is broken down further into the number of medical assistance recipients who were enrolled in managed care programs, then broken down again into the number of medical assistance recipients enrolled in managed care programs with podiatric benefits in their coverage. Lastly, these facilities must also report the number of visits by patients who were uninsured.

Section two states that this act shall take effect immediately, provided however, that the amendment to section 364-j of the social services law made by sections one and two of this act shall not affect the repeal of such section and shall be deemed to be repealed therewith.

Justification

The affordability and accessibility of podiatric services such as those provided by an academic podiatry center is a lifeline for residents in low-income communities across New York City where a large portion of the population is grappling with diabetes and many of these individuals are on some form of public assistance. Diabetes is a citywide epidemic, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene more than 500,000 adult New Yorkers have been diagnosed with diabetes and additional 200,000 have diabetes but do not yet know it. Diabetes and diabetes-associated cardiovascular diseases are leading causes of death in New York City. These figures are worse in lower income areas of the City where residents have up to 5 times the mortality rates of diabetes as compared with New York City residents overall-with the vast majority of individuals on Medicaid or Medicare, or uninsured. Given these atrocious statistics, preserving affordable and accessible care at podiatry clinics such as Foot Care Center of New York, the only podiatric clinic in upper Manhattan is a citywide imperative. Under the Managed Long Term Care reform enrollees will no longer have free access to the podiatry clinic and will be forced to get these services out side of their community or in emergency rooms as cases go undetected or untreated. "Free access" means that managed care plan enrollees are free to access these

clinics, regardless of whether the clinic is in their plans network and without the plans prior approval. Currently, the State allows free access to managed care enrollees at the SUNY College of Optometry as well as academic dental centers-but not for academic podiatry centers.

This legislation seeks to amend the Social Services Law for the sole purpose of preserving the accessibility and affordability of the specialty services which combat diabetes provided at the limited number of podiatric clinics, like an academic podiatry center.

Legislative history

2014: S.6142-A - Passed in Senate

Fiscal implications

None to the State.

Effective date

Section two states that this act shall take effect immediately, provided however, that the amendment to section 364-j of the social services law made by sections one and two of this act shall not affect the repeal of such section and shall be deemed to be repealed therewith.