What's happening
This bill allows patients to sue health care providers who refuse to follow their health care decisions, with possible daily financial penalties.
Why it matters
Expands legal recourse for patients. by allowing lawsuits even if the provider’s refusal to honor a health care decision did not cause physical, emotional, or economic harm—or even if the patient’s condition improved. This makes it easier for patients to assert their rights, focusing on autonomy rather than just injury.
Daily financial penalties. (minimum $2,000 per day) can be imposed for each day a provider fails to respect a patient’s health care decision. This could create strong incentives for providers and institutions to comply quickly with patient wishes.
Prohibits waiving the right to sue. Patients (or their representatives) cannot be forced to give up their right to bring such actions, ensuring that providers can’t use contracts or fine print to sidestep accountability.
Limits billing for unauthorized care. Providers cannot seek payment for treatments given without or against patient consent, unless those actions are specifically authorized by law. This adds a financial disincentive to ignoring patient choices, further protecting patient autonomy.
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Who cares
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Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1150
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 14, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. GOTTFRIED, ABINANTI -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to protecting patient health care decisions
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 2999-a-1 to read as follows:
§ 2999-a-1. Protection of patient health care decisions. 1. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms have the following meaning:
(a) "Patient health care decision" means an individual's decision (however expressed or recorded) to consent to, refuse consent to, withdraw consent to, or demand any health care service or treatment or health care research to be provided to or participated in by the individual, which a health care provider is legally required to adhere to or accommodate, and of which the health care provider knows or reasonably should know.
(b) "Patient" means the individual who is or would be the recipient of the health care service or treatment or the subject of the health care research. Where a patient lacks capacity to make a patient health care decision and an individual who has legal authority to do so lawfully makes the patient health care decision, the patient health care decision shall be deemed, for purposes of this section, to be the patient health care decision of the patient.
(c) "Health care" includes both physical and mental health care.
(d) "Health care provider" means an individual or entity legally authorized to provide a health care service or treatment or engage in health care research.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03495-01-9
A. 1150 2
2. In a judicial or administrative action or proceeding relating to a health care provider's failure or refusal to adhere to or accommodate a patient's patient health care decision:
(a) The action or proceeding shall not be barred because the health care provider's failure or refusal to adhere to or accommodate a patient's health care decision (i) did not cause physical, mental, emotional, or economic injury to the patient or (ii) improved the physical, mental, or emotional condition of the patient. However, the presence or absence of such injury or improvement may be considered in the measure of damages, penalty or other relief.
(b) A court may award damages for each day the health care provider's failure or refusal to adhere to or accommodate a patient's health care decision in the amount of two thousand dollars for each day or such other amount as the court may deem just.
(c) A waiver by or on behalf of a patient of the right to bring an action or proceeding under this subdivision shall be against public policy and shall be void.
(d) Laws and rules relating to civil actions or proceedings shall apply, except as explicitly provided otherwise in this section.
3. This section shall not change the authority of a health care provider to provide a health care service or treatment in the absence of or contrary to a patient's consent, where authorized by law.
4. No health care provider shall seek or accept payment or reimbursement from or on behalf of the patient or a third-party payer for a health care service or treatment that is provided in the absence of or contrary to the patient's consent, unless it was authorized by law to be provided in the absence of or contrary to the patient's consent.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.