What's happening
This bill requires health insurance policies in New York to cover human leukocyte antigen (HLA) testing for bone marrow tissue typing.
Why it matters
Expands access to life-saving bone marrow transplants. by ensuring insurance covers the necessary HLA testing used to match donors and recipients, which is crucial for successful outcomes and can impact survival rates for patients with certain cancers and blood disorders.
Reduces out-of-pocket costs and financial barriers. for individuals who need HLA testing, making it more likely that eligible patients can get tested and be considered for bone marrow donation or transplantation.
Creates uniformity across insurance plans. in New York, mandating coverage for both individual and group policies, except for certain multi-state or collectively bargained plans, thereby reducing disparities in access to important diagnostic procedures.
May encourage more people to join bone marrow registries. by lowering the cost of initial testing, potentially increasing the pool of available donors and improving chances for patients in need of a match.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Cover Bone Marrow Testing
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to insurance
- Referred to insurance
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
3694
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 30, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Committee on Insurance
AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to requiring policies and contracts of insurance providing hospital, surgical, or medical care coverage to include coverage for human leukocyte antigen testing
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subsection (i) of section 3216 of the insurance law is amended by adding a new paragraph 35 to read as follows:
(35) Every policy which provides hospital, surgical, or medical care coverage or provides reimbursement for laboratory tests or reimbursement for diagnostic X-ray services shall provide coverage for human leukocyte antigen testing, also referred to as histocompatible locus antigen testing, for A, B, and DR antigens for utilization in tissue typing for bone marrow testing.
§ 2. Subsection (1) of section 3221 of the insurance law is amended by adding a new paragraph 21 to read as follows:
(21) Every group or blanket policy delivered or issued for delivery in this state which provides hospital, surgical, or medical care coverage shall provide coverage for human leukocyte antigen testing, also referred to as histocompatible locus antigen testing, for A, B, and DR antigens for utilization in tissue typing for bone marrow testing, except that this provision shall not apply to a policy which covers persons employed in more than one state or the benefit structure of which was the subject of collective bargaining affecting persons who are employed in more than one state.
§ 3. Section 4303 of the insurance law is amended by adding a new subsection (ss) to read as follows:
(ss) A medical expense indemnity corporation, a hospital service corporation or a health service corporation which provides coverage for hospital, surgical, or medical care shall provide coverage for human
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04754-01-9
A. 3694 2
leukocyte antigen testing, also referred to as histocompatible locus antigen testing, for A, B, and DR antigens for utilization in tissue typing for bone marrow testing, except that this provision shall not apply to a contract which covers persons employed in more than one state or the benefit structure of which was the subject of collective bargaining affecting persons who are employed in more than one state.
§ 4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply to all policies and contracts issued, renewed, modified, altered, or amended on or after such effective date. Effective immediately any rules or regulations necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date shall be promulgated, and any other measures necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date shall be taken, on or before such effective date.
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.