Asm. Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn

Maddy summaryThis bill requires health insurance plans in New York to cover specific pre-term labor care. It mandates coverage for home nursing visits to monitor expectant mothers diagnosed with pre-term labor (between 20-36 weeks of pregnancy), administration of Makena medication by nurses, and counseling services for emotional support. These services are required for individuals who have experienced pre-term labor, miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant loss within a month of birth. The law applies to all health insurance policies providing hospital, surgical, or medical coverage, directly affecting insurers and pregnant people with these specific needs.

Requires any hospital that provides birthing services to provide written, educational material containing information about premature newborn infants.

Provides for loan forgiveness for social workers who commit to work in counties with less than two hundred thousand population, or towns which have a population of less than one hundred fifty persons per square mile for the duration of the award.

Increases the threshold for office of the comptroller review of the metropolitan transportation authority discretionary awards to MWBEs and small businesses from one million dollars to one million five hundred thousand dollars.

Requires insurer to respond within thirty days of a written request from an insured for their health plan documents, including copies of most recent group or individual contracts.

Establishes the Take A Look medical and dental workforce employment tour pilot program which is a campaign to promote and market the health care workforce employment and career opportunities in the following economic development regions: central, north country, western, finger lakes, capital region, mohawk and southern tier.

Directs the division of criminal justice services to study, evaluate, and make recommendations concerning instances of police brutality in the city of Rochester.

Sets reimbursement rates for essential safety net hospitals at no less than regional average commercial rates for health care services provided by all hospitals in the same geographic region.

Maddy summaryThis bill removes the State University of New York (SUNY) board of trustees from its role as a charter entity for approving charter schools. It amends education law to make the Board of Regents the sole entity authorized to issue charters, eliminating SUNY as an option. This change directly affects school districts applying for charter status and SUNY, which no longer holds this approval authority. The bill focuses on procedural changes to the charter school application process without altering charter school operations or student eligibility.

Relates to excluding renewable energy pilot projects and certain energy system-related payments in lieu of taxes from tax cap calculations, and to the establishment of a distributed generation energy development program that provides a single forum for state-level appeals for proposed distributed generation energy facilities.