A 5624 New York Assembly · 2025 Regular Session

Enacts the mental health assessment and record keeping for the coroner's office act

Summary

Enacts the mental health assessment and record keeping for the coroner's office act; requires the coroner, coroner and coroner's physician, or the medical examiner, to conduct a mental health assessment when a death occurs in such person's jurisdiction; requires death certificates list an underlying mental illness as the cause of death when a person commits suicide; requires life insurance policies to pay upon a suicide which the coroner, coroner and coroner's physician, or the medical examiner indicated an underlying mental illness as the cause of death.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 18, 2025 Last action Jan 7, 2026

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What changed between versions

A5624 → A5624A · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends county, public health, and insurance laws to establish a mental health assessment process for coroners and medical examiners. When these officials identify mental health disorders as the cause of death, suicide cannot be listed on the death certificate, and insurance companies must treat the death as non-suicide for policy purposes.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope from only county law amendments to include the public health law and insurance law, affecting how death certificates are issued and how life insurance claims are processed.

REQUIREMENT

Coroners and medical examiners must now conduct mental health assessments and document findings on prescribed forms.

Mental health assessment records must remain confidential and cannot be disclosed under freedom of information laws.

ELIGIBILITY

Death certificates cannot list suicide as a cause of death when a coroner's mental health assessment identifies mental health disorders as the cause.

Insurance policies must treat deaths with documented mental health disorders as non-suicide cases, affecting claim eligibility and guaranteed death benefits.

TIMELINE

The effective date changed from 180 days after enactment to immediate implementation for necessary rule changes.

Floor votes

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No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jan 7, 2026

Committee

REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

lower

May 6, 2025

Lower · Passed

PRINT NUMBER 5624A

lower

May 6, 2025

Lower · Passed

AMEND (T) AND RECOMMIT TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

lower

Feb 18, 2025

Committee

REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors