Healthcare

This bill requires New York health insurance plans covering prescription drugs to include coverage for at least two epinephrine auto-injectors for emergency treatment of severe allergic reactions. It caps out-of-pocket costs for these devices at $100 annually, regardless of the plan's deductible, coinsurance, or other cost-sharing rules. The law applies to all major medical, group, and similar health insurance policies sold in New York, including health savings account-qualified plans, with specific provisions to maintain federal eligibility for preventive care coverage. It ensures individuals face a predictable maximum cost for these life-saving devices. The bill was signed into law on February 14, 2025.

This bill extends the effective date for certain application provisions related to New York's Medicare Savings Program to April 1, 2026. It directly affects low-income seniors and individuals applying for Medicare Savings benefits, which help cover Medicare costs like premiums and deductibles. The key mechanism is amending the effective date in the law to delay implementation until April 2026, while other immediate provisions take effect right away. The bill was signed into law on February 14, 2025, as Chapter 32.

Relates to including information about Down Syndrome in the health care and wellness education and outreach program; amends the effectiveness thereof.

Includes guardians of the principal as a person who may commence certain special proceedings; provides that if a hospital can with reasonable efforts ascertain the identity of the parents or guardian of an emancipated minor patient and obtain such parent's or guardian's contact information, the hospital shall notify such persons, and document such notification in the patient's medical record, prior to withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment.