This bill amends New York's penal law and related statutes to explicitly include "medical information" and "health insurance information" in the legal definition of "personal identifying information." It defines medical information as details about an individual's medical history or treatment, and health insurance information as policy numbers, subscriber IDs, or claims history. These changes mean that identity theft involving such sensitive health data will now be covered under existing identity theft laws, which previously did not explicitly include these categories. The bill also removes outdated definitions from related laws to streamline the updated framework.
Designates services to be provided by a jail-based substance use disorder treatment, peer led recovery support services, and transition services program as essential medical care services.
Requires the office of addiction services and supports to encourage, aid, and facilitate clinical research into the use of ibogaine in drug treatment for heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine addiction.
Relates to the performance of medical services by physician assistants; provides that a physician assistant may practice without the supervision of a physician when such physician assistant is employed by a health system or hospital and is credentialed and given privileges by such health system or hospital, or when such physician assistant is licensed, has practiced for more than six thousand hours, is practicing in primary care, and is performing certain functions.
Bill S 3554 increases the amount of personal savings individuals can have and still qualify for Medicaid benefits, directly affecting those seeking medical assistance. It changes the current savings exemption rule from a variable formula to a specific, fixed amount. Under this bill, the maximum savings amount for Medicaid eligibility, including for certain disabled individuals, would be set at $300,000. This change is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026, provided there is federal financial participation.
This bill creates a dentist loan repayment program and a practice support program to encourage dentists to work in underserved areas of New York. The loan repayment program provides up to $50,000 per year for three years (totaling $150,000) to help repay student loans for dentists who commit to practicing in underserved areas for three years. The practice support program offers up to $70,000 per year for three years (totaling $210,000) to assist dentists in establishing practices or hospitals in recruiting dentists for underserved communities. Both programs are funded at $1.2 million annually for loan repayment and $3 million annually for practice support (2025-2028), with at least 50% of funds reserved for dentists trained in teaching hospitals and 1/3 allocated to New York City.
Requires the Triborough bridge and tunnel authority to reimburse certain individuals from transit deserts when they travel into the central business district who need medical treatment or are providing religious services; provides that such reimbursement shall be one hundred percent of all associated fees.
Bill A 8518 requires insurance companies to provide outpatient coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of problem gambling services. This directly affects individuals with medical, major medical, or similar comprehensive insurance coverage, as well as their insurance providers. The bill amends existing insurance law to explicitly include problem gambling services within covered substance use disorder treatments. It also mandates that financial requirements and treatment limitations for problem gambling services cannot be more restrictive than those applied to substantially all other medical and surgical benefits covered by the policy.
Requires individuals who practice the profession of dental therapy to be licensed and registered in the state; provides Medicaid reimbursement for dental therapy services.
This bill (S 3360) expands who can legally authorize the donation of a deceased person's body for medical education or research. It adds "a close friend" (as defined in section 2994-a of the law) to the list of people permitted to make an anatomical gift, alongside existing categories like family members or guardians. The bill also clarifies that if multiple people in the same category (including close friends) are eligible, a gift requires majority agreement among reasonably available individuals to avoid conflicts. It directly affects close friends of decedents seeking to facilitate body donations for medical purposes.
