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Health Care Legislative Goals

- Establish universal healthcare coverage for all New York State residents.

- Support EPIC principles aimed at protecting both EPIC participants and those dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid from the punitive cost increases and other restrictions resulting from the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003.

- Include persons with disabilities in EPIC.

- Ensure continued funding for community-based organizations to provide education and outreach regarding the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit and the state’s EPIC program, and work for ways to allow administrative simplicity and maximize savings.

- Establish a prescription drug-purchasing authority to use the state’s bulk-purchasing power to negotiate better prices for Medicaid, EPIC, state workers, prisoners, and other public programs.

- Stop cuts to Medicaid that curtail health coverage, limit access to health car, and lower quality of care for seniors, the disabled, and low-income families and children.

- To require regulation and accountability of Pharmaceutical Benefits Managers in New York state, and to monitor them for abuses, including their  not passing along savings to customers, hiding rebates, and steering market share for high-cost drugs to certain drug manufacturers.

- To require disclosure by drug companies of marketing and advertising expenditures. This measure should be matched by one that requires pharmacies to report prices of the most frequently prescribed drugs to the Department of Education [not the DOH?], for subsequent posting on the Internet in conjunction with the Attorney General’s office.

- To mandate mental-health parity of insurance coverage to halt discrimination against seniors, the disabled, and the impoverished that denies them fair access to health care.

Healthcare Bills supported by Statewide Senior Action

Family Health Care Decision Act
Establishes procedures for family members, surrogates, domestic partners, and others to make health care decisions for incapacitated patients – Not same as Senate bill.

Assembly Bill #  No Assembly same as bill

Senate Bill #         S5522 Hannon

Status:                   In Senate Health Committee.

Medicare Part D co-payments toward Medicaid co-pays.
Authorizes Commissioner of health to create a system to include co-payments billed to a  Medicare Part D recipient towards the recipient's total annual Medicaid co-payments.

Assembly Bill #   A3598 Gottfried

Senate Bill #     S2134 Hannon

Status:               Passed Assembly Health Committee, in Ways & Means. In Senate Health Committee.

Alzheimer’s & Dementia Care Disclosures
Requires any facility that advertises or markets itself as providing Alzheimer's and dementia special care must disclose the form of care or treatment.

Assembly Bill #   A1451 Englebright

Senate Bill #         S499 Maziarz

Status:                   In Assembly Aging Committee. In Senate Health Committee.

Alzheimer’s & Dementia Council
Creates a coordinating council for services related to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia.

Assembly Bill #   A899-A Englebright

Senate Bill #        S2448 Golden

Status:                   Passed Assembly Aging Committee, in Ways & Means.
                                 Passed Senate Aging Committee, in Finance.

Authorizes Medical Use of Marijuana
Authorizes medical treatment with inhaled marijuana for conditions where other treatments have proven ineffective and marijuana is effective.  The bill contains safeguards against diversion of marijuana into illegal use.

Assembly Bill #   A4867 Gottfried

Senate Bill #

Status:                   Passed Assembly. In Senate Rules.

Bulk Purchasing Cooperative Program
Establishes a prescription drug bulk purchasing cooperative program for public employees and other participants who may join.

Assembly Bill #  No Assembly same as bill.

Senate Bill #         S323 Golden

Status:                   In Senate Aging Committee.

Closed Block Medicare Ins. Program
Protects seniors from price gouging when they are enrolled in “closed block” Medicare supplemental insurance programs.

Assembly Bill #   A6399 Cook

Senate Bill #         S781 Fuschillo

Status:                   Not introduced yet.

Conversion of Not-for-profit Health Insurance  to For-profit
Establishes a process for not-for-profit health insurers to convert to for-profit companies and requires their charitable assets be used to improve patient care.

Assembly Bill #   A4024 Grannis

Senate Bill #

Status:                   Bill numbers not yet identified.

Co-payments Can’t Exceed Rx Retail Price
Prohibits health insurance companies, HMOs and health plans from charging co- payments higher than the cost for a prescription drug.

Assembly Bill #   A2573/A7441 Grannis

Senate Bill #         S3028 Seward

Status:                   In Assembly Insurance Committee, enacting clause stricken.
                                In Senate Insurance Committee.

EPIC Coverage in RHCF
Requires residential health care facilities to ensure residents enrolled in the EPIC program can use their EPIC coverage to pay for drugs dispensed to the resident by a health care facility.

Assembly Bill #   A3683 Grannis

Senate Bill #       No Senate same as bill.

Status:                   In Assembly Aging, enacting clause stricken.

EPIC Expansion to Persons with Disabilities
Expands EPIC program to include persons with disabilities who are eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits.

Assembly Bill #   A5178-A Koon

Senate Bill #         S2644-A

Status:                   Passed Assembly Aging, in Ways and Means.  Passed Senate Aging, in Finance.

Family Health Care Decision Act
Establishes procedures for family members, surrogates, domestic partners, and others to make health care decisions for incapacitated patients – Not same as Senate bill.

Assembly Bill #   A6993-A Gottfried

Senate Bill #        No Senate same as bill.

Status:                   Passed Assembly Health Committee and Codes Committee, in Rules.

Medicaid/Medicare Part D Wrap Around
Restores Medicaid wrap-around coverage for Medicare Part D drugs

Assembly Bill #   A1014 Gottfried

Senate Bill #         No Senate same as bill.

Status:                   In Assembly Health Committee.

New York Health Plan
Establishes a comprehensive system that provides access to health insurance for New York state residents; establishes the administrative structure as a public benefit corporation

Assembly Bill #   A7354 Gottfried

Senate Bill #         S3107

Status:                   Passed Assembly Health Committee, in Ways and Means.

                                In Senate Finance.

PBM Regulation
Regulates actions of Prescription Benefit Managers (PBM), requires them to perform their duties as fiduciaries

Assembly Bill #   A6341 Gottfried

Senate Bill #         S2642 Seward

Status:                   Passed Assembly. In Senate Rules.

Prescription Drug Assistance Program
Enacts a prescription assistance program through bulk purchasing and rebates for public employees and other participants who may join, including individuals with no prescription coverage, EPIC, insurance programs, employee health programs, and health care facilities.

Assembly Bill #   A3848 Gottfried

Senate Bill #        No Senate same as bill.
Status:                  Passed Assembly Health Committee, in Codes Committee.        

Prescription Drug Assistance Program
Creates the Prescription Drug Assistance Program to provide Rx drugs at reduced prices through rebates from manufacturers.

Assembly Bill #   No Assembly same as bill.

Senate Bill #         S316 Golden

Status:                   In Senate Finance Committee.

Prescription Drug Bulk Purchasing Study
Establishes the prescription drug one source purchase task force to make recommendations regarding how to consolidate prescription drug purchases for all state agencies; study to include ways for municipal governments to join bulk purchasing.

Assembly Bill #   A4611 Lifton

Senate Bill #         S1315 Farley

Status:                   In Senate Finance Committee. In Assembly Health Committee.

Public Hearings: rate increases 5% or more
Requires Insurance Department to conduct hearings when HMOs, nonprofit insurers and Medigap plans request a rate increase of more than 5%.

Assembly Bill #   A2518-A Grannis

Senate Bill #

Status:                   Bill numbers not yet identified.

Removes EPIC Marriage Penalty
Modifies EPIC eligibility standards to remove the marriage penalty for couples, including the way in which cost-of-living adjustments are calculated.

Assembly Bill #   A1654 Englebright

Senate Bill #         S118 Golden

Status:                   Passed Senate Aging Committee, in Finance. In Assembly Health Committee.

Rx Drug Manufacturers’ Disclosure of Gifts
Requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to report gifts given to drug prescribers, and for the Commissioner to study and report on the data.

Assembly Bill #   A7468 Gottfried

Senate Bill #         S2971 Maziarz

Status:                   Passed Assembly. In Senate Rules.

Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act
Requires acute care facilities to implement certain direct-care nurse to patient ratios in all nursing units; sets minimum staffing requirements; and provides other protections to assure safe staffing levels are maintained.

Assembly Bill #   A6119 Gottfried

Senate Bill #         S1551 Hannon

Status:                   Passed Assembly Health Committee and Codes Committee,
                                   in Ways and Means. In Senate Health Committee.

Senior Vision Program
Establishes a senior vision services program in SOFA.

Assembly Bill #   A897 Englebright

Senate Bill #         S522 Maziarz

Status:                   Passed Assembly and Senate. Signed by Governor Chap. 573 on 8/15/2007.