What's happening
Jimmy's Law requires all New York ambulance services to carry minimum levels of medical malpractice insurance to operate.
Why it matters
Ensures financial protection for patients and families. By requiring ambulance services to carry medical malpractice insurance, patients harmed by negligence during emergency medical care will have a clear path to compensation for injuries or wrongful death.
Raises operational standards for all ambulance providers. The law sets a uniform statewide minimum for insurance coverage, which may weed out less reputable or financially unstable operators, potentially improving the overall quality and accountability of ambulance services.
Could affect costs and access in some communities. Smaller or volunteer ambulance services may face higher operating costs to meet the insurance mandate, which could impact service availability or lead to higher fees for emergency transport, particularly in rural or underfunded areas.
Establishes clear regulatory oversight. By requiring proof of insurance as a condition for obtaining or renewing an ambulance service certificate, the law strengthens the state's ability to monitor and enforce compliance, reducing the risk of uninsured operators.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Require Ambulance Insurance Coverage
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
5 Multi-sponsors
History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
3062
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 28, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. ZEBROWSKI, STECK, L. ROSENTHAL, MOSLEY, ARROYO, PALUMBO -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BLAKE, COOK, CROUCH, DILAN, RIVERA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to insurance and protocols for ambulance services
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Jimmy's Law".
§ 2. Section 3005 of the public health law is amended by adding a new subdivision 9 to read as follows:
9. On or after January first, two thousand twenty, no ambulance service shall operate in the state of New York unless it possesses a valid certificate of insurance that is in compliance with the provisions of section three thousand thirteen-a of this article.
§ 3. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 3013-a to read as follows:
§ 3013-a. Minimum liability standards for ambulance services. 1. For the purposes of this section "medical malpractice insurance" shall mean insurance against legal liability of the insured, and against loss, damage, or expense incident to a claim of such liability arising out of the death or injury of any person due to medical malpractice by any emergency medical technician, advanced emergency medical technician, or qualified medical and health personnel.
2. All operators of an ambulance service must maintain the following minimum medical malpractice insurance requirements:
(a) at least one million dollars of coverage per occurrence; and
(b) at least three million dollars of coverage for all occurrences per policy year.
3. The operator shall provide proof of insurance to the commissioner prior to obtaining an ambulance service certificate or upon renewal of an ambulance certificate.
§ 4. This act shall take effect January 1, 2020.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06160-01-9
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.