Healthcare

passed both · New York · Senate Jun 4, 2026

S 3610: Establishes the rural suicide prevention council

Establishes the rural suicide prevention council to identify barriers to mental health and substance use treatment and prevention services and other policies, practices, resources, services, and potential legislation that aim to reduce death by suicide and suicide attempts and acknowledge the demographic and cultural differences in rural communities; makes related provisions.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareEstablishes council to identify barriers and improve rural mental health services, directly supporting mental health care access and suicide prevention programs.90% confidence | Rep's Stance Voted absent

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died · New York · Senate Jun 4, 2026

S 118: Relates to the dissemination of information pertaining to Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia through the NY Connects: Choices for Long Term Care program

S 118 creates a searchable public database of existing dementia and Alzheimer's disease support programs for elderly individuals (60+). The office of aging, working with the health department, will develop criteria to identify successful programs and maintain the database on its website. The database will include program names, descriptions, contact details, and service areas to help elderly individuals, families, and caregivers find local resources. It requires annual updates to ensure the information remains current and accessible. This bill directly affects elderly persons with dementia/Alzheimer's and the service providers offering support in community settings.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareCreates searchable database connecting elderly to existing dementia care programs, improving access to healthcare services for vulnerable populations.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Healthcare

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passed · New York · Senate Jun 4, 2026

S 8426: Prevents discrimination by insurers based on an individual's mental health or substance use disorder

Prevents discrimination by insurers based on an individual's mental health or substance use disorder; incorporates into law federal enforcement rules set forth in the federal mental health parity and addiction equity act of 2008.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcarePrevents insurer discrimination against mental health/substance use disorder patients, enforcing parity and protecting patient rights under federal law.95% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentPrevents insurer discrimination on mental health/substance use, ensuring equal access to benefits, aligns with expanding worker benefits under employment standards.85% confidence | Rep's Stance Voted absent

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passed both · New York · Assembly Jun 3, 2026

A 10443: Clarifies who may sue an insurer for violations related to misrepresentations, misleading statements and incomplete comparisons

Clarifies that residents of the state and any policyholder, contract holder, certificate holder, or beneficiary of a policy, contract, or certificate of life, accident and health insurance may sue an insurer for violations related to misrepresentations, misleading statements and incomplete comparisons.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill protects patient rights by clarifying legal recourse against insurers for misrepresentations, strengthening consumer protection in healthcare.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Healthcare

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in committee · New York · Senate Jun 3, 2026

S 9237: Relates to the definition of family for purposes of services provided by voluntary foster care agency health facilities

Includes both the birth family and the foster family of children in foster care, and other families receiving child welfare services from the authorized agency or the local departments of social services in the case of authorized agencies in the definition of family for purposes of services provided by voluntary foster care agency health facilities.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareExpands definition of family to include foster/birth families for accessing health services, improving access to care for children in foster care.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Healthcare

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passed both · New York · Assembly Jun 3, 2026

A 10310: Requires residential health care facilities to maintain hospice agreements to ensure access to hospice services for eligible residents

This bill (A 10310) requires residential health care facilities to maintain written agreements with licensed hospice programs. It directly affects facilities caring for residents eligible for hospice services, mandating coordination on key areas like timely referrals, care planning, medication management, and emergency response. The agreements must address six specific coordination points, including roles of facility and hospice staff and after-hours communication. Facilities that fail to comply face enforcement under health law, and the Department of Health will provide implementation guidance and model contracts.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareMandates hospice agreements to improve access and coordination for eligible residents, directly advancing healthcare access and patient care standards.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Healthcare

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passed · New York · Senate Jun 3, 2026

S 8637: Relates to purposes of the drug treatment and public education fund

Expands the purposes of the drug treatment and public education fund to include prevention and recovery programs; requires reporting to be made available on the office of addiction services and supports' website.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesExpands fund purposes to include prevention/recovery programs, directing existing budget toward public health services.90% confidence ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeExpands drug treatment fund to include prevention/recovery programs, directly supporting criminal justice reform through rehabilitation and recidivism reduction.95% confidence ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareExpands drug treatment fund to include prevention/recovery programs, strengthening public health services under healthcare topic.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Healthcare

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passed · New York · Senate Jun 3, 2026

S 2666: Relates to the provision of breast pumps to certain incarcerated birth parents and allowing children to remain with their incarcerated birth parent for a period of time

Relates to the provision of breast pumps and related collection and storage materials to certain incarcerated nursing birth parents who are confined in or committed to an institution or local correctional facility with or without their child subject to specific time limitations; requires institutions and local correctional facilities to provide pumps and related materials to such incarcerated birth parents; requires the commissioner of corrections and community supervision to issue an annual report on data relating to incarcerated birth parents.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeMandates correctional facilities to provide breast pumps and allow infant visits, supporting family reunification and rehabilitation - key criminal justice reform goals.90% confidence ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareMandates provision of breast pumps (medical device) for incarcerated nursing parents, directly improving maternal/infant health access in correctional facilities.95% confidence | Rep's Stance Voted absent

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passed both · New York · Assembly Jun 3, 2026

A 9026: Requires the testing of baby food and infant formula for toxic heavy metals and the disclosure of such test results

This bill (A 9026, "Baby Food Safety and Transparency Act") requires baby food manufacturers sold in the state to test products for arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury at least monthly using accredited labs. Manufacturers must publicly disclose test results via QR codes on labels showing metal levels and linking to FDA health information. Products exceeding state-established safety limits (based on federal standards) cannot be sold. The law directly affects baby food manufacturers and aims to increase transparency for parents, supplementing but not replacing federal requirements.

Topics ✓ EnvironmentSupports EnvironmentTests baby food for environmental pollutants (arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury), requiring disclosure to protect public health from contamination linked to environmental pollution sources.85% confidence ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareMandates toxic metal testing in baby food to protect infant health, directly advancing public health safety standards under healthcare policy.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Healthcare

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passed · New York · Senate Jun 3, 2026

S 8363: Enacts the individual counseling rate enhancement act

Requires a rate enhancement for reimbursement of individual psychotherapy services provided by a mental health counselor, a clinical social worker, or a psychologist where such services are provided in an outpatient substance use disorder clinic.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareRequires higher reimbursement rates for mental health counseling in substance use clinics, directly supporting access to mental health services.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Healthcare

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