This bill increases the minimum hourly pay for home care aides in upstate New York counties (excluding New York City boroughs and Nassau/Suffolk counties) by adding $3.22 per hour to their cash compensation. It directly affects home care workers employed in these regions, raising their base pay rate. The change takes effect October 1, 2025, and applies to the "cash portion" of their total compensation as defined by existing law. The bill does not alter regional pay rates but adds a fixed hourly amount to the existing minimum for eligible counties.
This bill requires all New York schools to integrate instruction on preventing co-occurring disorders - such as mental health issues combined with substance misuse (alcohol, tobacco, or drugs) - into their standard health education curriculum. The instruction must be tailored to students' grade levels, focusing on promoting mental wellness, healthy decision-making, and understanding pathways to addiction. Schools must develop this content with input from existing advisory councils on youth substance abuse and suicide prevention. The law takes effect July 1, 2025, applying to all public and private schools offering health education.
Allows for unlicensed personnel to administer certain seizure rescue medication in schools, on school grounds and at school events; provides that such medicine may be left with a school health official to be used as needed.
S 5884 establishes a crisis intervention demonstration program in New York City and other cities with populations of one million or more. It requires the state mental health commissioner to create a coordinator position to train law enforcement officers on responding to mental health and substance abuse crises, while partnering with community mental health providers to offer alternatives to jail. The program will be funded through a new state fund (initially up to $1 million from the state general fund) and federal/private grants, with annual reporting on training participation and program effectiveness. This bill directly affects law enforcement agencies in large cities that choose to participate, as well as mental health service providers and individuals experiencing behavioral health crises.
Expedites the distributions of funds for the supervision and treatment services for juveniles program; requires that eligible municipalities receive the sum equivalent to at least their last approved supervision and treatment services for juveniles program plan.
Requires certain information to be included in every pharmacy benefit manager's annual report to the superintendent such as the aggregated dollar amount of rebates, fees, price protection payments and any other payments the pharmacy benefit manager received from drug manufacturers through rebate contract, the amount of certain allocations, and information on rebate contracts.
Excludes one-time federal assistance in the calculation of operating revenue for purposes of minimum direct resident care spending by residential health care facilities.
This bill requires health insurers and health maintenance organizations to provide group health insurance policyholders (typically employers or organizations) with a 30-day written notice before terminating coverage. The notice must be mailed to the last known residential address of each covered individual (certificate holder or member) and include details about their coverage rights before and after termination. Exceptions apply if the policyholder already provided 30 days' notice to members or arranged replacement coverage. The policy cannot terminate until 30 days after the required notice is mailed, directly affecting employees covered under group health plans.
This bill (A 6887) gives workers with compensation claims the right to choose their own pharmacy for prescribed medications when their employer or insurance company fails to authorize the medication within 72 hours for specific reasons - such as refusal to pay, delays in reauthorization due to missing medical reports, or disputes over treatment guidelines. It directly affects injured workers who face medication access barriers through the employer's contracted pharmacy network. Pharmacies dispensing medications under this provision must follow state fee schedules, medical treatment guidelines, and formulary rules, and will be paid within 45 days of approval. The law aims to prevent medication delays while ensuring cost accountability for both workers and insurers.
This bill allows community colleges that currently offer associate degree nursing programs to also provide four-year bachelor's degree nursing programs. It directly affects these community colleges and their nursing students by expanding educational pathways without requiring separate state approval. The key provision amends education law to remove existing barriers, stating community colleges may offer the four-year degree "notwithstanding any other law, rule or regulation." This creates a clear legal mechanism for colleges to expand nursing education at their campuses. The bill is pending in the Higher Education committee as of March 2025.
