Healthcare

Defines mental health practitioners with diagnostic authority for the purposes of providing services under the workers' compensation law; includes such practitioners as providers.

This bill requires large group health insurance plans in New York to cover acupuncture services when prescribed by qualified healthcare providers (as defined under Education Law §8211). It applies to plans covering physician office services or comprehensive medical coverage, mandating coverage for acupuncture treatments but allowing reasonable cost-sharing like deductibles or co-pays. The law does not require full coverage without cost-sharing, only that plans include acupuncture as a covered service under specified conditions. It affects insurers offering large group plans and patients relying on such coverage for acupuncture treatments. The bill takes effect 90 days after enactment for new or renewed policies.

Permits telemedicine services for mental and behavioral health issues under the workers' compensation system; permits one in-person visit within twelve months unless such in-person visit causes undue hardship on a patient.

Enacts into law major components of legislation necessary to implement the state health and mental hygiene budget for the 2026-2027 state fiscal year; extends provisions requiring the quarterly assessment of known and projected department of health state fund Medicaid expenditures (Part A); extends certain health provisions (Part B); extends certain provisions of law relating to the health care reform act; extends provisions relating to the distribution of pool allocations and graduate medical education; extends provisions relating to health care initiative pool distributions; extends payment provisions for general hospitals; extends provisions relating to assessments on covered lives; extends the personal care services worker recruitment and retention program (Part C); relates to insurance coverage for medical malpractice paid for by funds from the hospital excess liability pool; extends portions of the New York Health Care Reform Act of 1996 (Part D); makes technical corrections to certain provisions of law relating to the New York State Dental Foundation and other provisions of law (Part F); relates to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) (Part G); extends certain provisions relating to payments from the New York state medical indemnity fund (Part I); relates to temporary health care services agencies and protecting individuals engaged to provide health care services by such agencies (Part J); restores capital rate reductions for nursing homes (Part L); limits the amount payable for certain services provided to certain eligible persons who are also beneficiaries under part B of title XVII of the federal social security act or are also qualified Medicare beneficiaries; clarifies Medicaid requirements for biomarker testing (Part M); relates to hospital and nursing home fee-for-service reimbursement rates and reductions in hospital capital rate add-ons (Part O); directs the commissioners of the office of mental health, office for people with developmental disabilities, office of addiction services and supports, office of temporary and disability assistance, office of children and family services and the director of the state office for the aging to establish a state fiscal year 2026-2027 targeted inflationary increase for projecting for the effects of inflation upon rates of payments, contracts, or any other form of reimbursement for certain programs and services; requires such commissioners and director to provide funding to support a 2.7% targeted inflationary increase for such programs and services (Part P); changes "substance use" to substance-related and addictive disorder claims for purposes of the insurance law and public health law (Part R); relates to the effectiveness of provisions of law relating to Medicaid management; removes certain provisions providing for lower minimum amounts of certain state aid for the city of New York than the rest of the state (Part T); extends certain government rates for behavioral services referencing the office of addiction services and supports and relates to the effectiveness thereof (Part U); relates to the effectiveness of certain provisions of law relating to the closure or transfer of a state-operated individualized residential alternative (Part V); extends the care demonstration program (Part W); relates to medical assistance for needy persons age sixty-five or older and who are eligible for medical assistance but for their immigration status through the fee-for-service program (Part X); provides for an amended New York managed care organization provider tax at a rate of 0.35% effective January 1, 2027 (Part Y); provides that services provided in school-based health centers shall not be provided to medical assistance recipients through managed care programs (Part Z); extends provisions of law relating to reimbursement rates for medically fragile children and pediatric diagnostic and treatment centers (Part AA); amends provisions for dispute resolution for emergency services and surprise bills; provides for benchmarking of amounts allowed for health care services provider in the same or similar specialty and provided in the same geographical area (Part BB).

This bill amends New York's education law to clarify supervision requirements for marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors. It specifies that applicants must complete 3,000 hours of post-master's supervised experience (for mental health counselors) or 1,500 client contact hours (for marriage and family therapists), all under qualified supervisors. Supervisors must hold at least 3 years of licensure, have diagnostic privileges, and complete 36 hours of continuing education in supervision ethics. The bill also allows the department to accept supervised experience obtained in waiver-exempt settings or under good-faith belief of proper authorization. These changes directly affect therapists seeking licensure and those providing supervision in mental health practice.

Directs the commissioner of health shall promulgate regulations allowing for any electronic health records integration vendor to obtain state approval to facilitate interoperability between the prescription monitoring program registry and certified electronic health records systems that can connect with any national data sharing hub.

This bill provides emergency funding for state government operations from April 1 through April 7, 2026, to ensure payments continue while regular appropriations are being processed. It allocates approximately $248 million for employee payroll, $10 million for non-payroll operational expenses, and $6.4 million for federal food and nutrition assistance programs. The legislation also includes $609.9 million for the Medical Assistance Program (Medicaid) and covers various employee benefits such as social security contributions and retirement plan costs. This temporary funding allows state departments and agencies to maintain essential services during the brief gap before the full fiscal year budget is enacted.

Directs the department of health to make available a model comprehensive county emergency medical system plan to provide guidance to counties in developing their plans and to review such county plans within a certain period of time; and directs counties, in coordination with their regional emergency medical services councils, to develop and maintain comprehensive county emergency medical system plans that provide for coordinated emergency medical systems within such counties.

Requires insurance coverage for lactation support services by a certified lactation consultant who evaluate and manage lactation and infant feeding problems and provide preventative clinical consulting to prevent or minimize the occurrence of potential problems.

This bill requires most health insurance plans sold in the state to cover pharmacist-provided contraceptive services, such as counseling, prescribing, or dispensing. It directly affects health insurers and patients seeking contraceptive care through pharmacies. The key provision mandates that insurance policies include these specific services without extra costs to the patient. The bill passed the Senate in January 2026 and is now under review by the Assembly's Insurance committee.