Sen. Rachel May

Establishes the New York Health program, a comprehensive system of access to health insurance for New York state residents; provides for administrative structure of the plan; provides for powers and duties of the board of trustees, the scope of benefits, payment methodologies and care coordination; establishes the New York Health Trust Fund which would hold monies from a variety of sources to be used solely to finance the plan; enacts provisions relating to financing of New York Health, including a payroll assessment, similar to the Medicare tax; establishes a temporary commission on implementation of the plan; provides for collective negotiations by health care providers with New York Health.

Requires consideration as a quantitative factor whether the commodities or services were manufactured or will be performed by a labor union with respect to the awarding of certain procurement contracts.

Enacts the "Consumer and Small business Protection Act"; relates to standing for persons affected by prohibited or unlawful business practices; expands prohibited acts to include unfair, deceptive or abusive acts.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes regional minimum hourly payment rates that Medicaid must reimburse home care providers for services delivered to Medicaid patients. It directly affects home care agencies and providers employing aides covered by minimum wage laws, requiring rates to cover all direct care costs - including base wages, overtime, benefits, taxes, and mandated programs like COVID-19 sick pay. The commissioner must set these rates regionally based on cost factors, adjust them annually for labor law changes, and publish them publicly. Oversight includes comptroller reviews of managed care contracts to ensure rates meet the minimum standards.

Requires businesses that allow automatic renewals, continuous service offers, and automatic subscription renewals to provide notice regarding cancelling such renewals, services, or subscriptions.

Establishes a bicycle and pedestrian planning assistance program within the department of transportation to provide county and municipal governments with planning assistance for locally driven projects and activities that lead to bicycle and pedestrian friendly infrastructure; establishes criteria for approval for assistance under such program.

Maddy summaryThis bill (S 6161) requires pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to charge health insurers and health plans only for actual drug costs, pharmacy dispensing fees, and a fair administrative fee - passing through all rebates, discounts, and other financial benefits directly to the health plan. It bans "spread pricing" (where PBMs keep the difference between what they pay pharmacies and charge plans) and mandates full disclosure of all income sources to the state department. PBMs must provide quarterly refunds for any excess amounts kept under the old pricing model. The bill directly affects health insurers, health plans, and PBMs operating in New York, aiming to reduce prescription drug costs for consumers through transparency and cost accountability.

Relates to tax on sales of motor fuel and petroleum products and makes conforming changes; repeals provisions relating to manufacturing gallonage for purposes of the imposition of certain taxes; repeals provisions relating to reimbursement; repeals provisions relating to a utility credit or reimbursement; repeals provisions relating to an aviation fuel business which services four or more cities; repeals provisions relating to services rendered with respect to certain property; repeals provisions relating to fuel sold to an airline for use in its airplanes.

Establishes the "SNAP for students act" requiring the office of temporary and disability assistance to create informational materials to provide information regarding student eligibility for SNAP benefits and to provide digital versions of such materials to institutions of higher education in the state; requires institutions of higher education to notify students of their potential eligibility for SNAP benefits.

Establishes school based health centers to be organized through school, community, and health provider relationships and provide services in keeping with state and local laws and regulations, as well as established medical standards, and best practices.