Permits the commissioner of health to share deidentified information as strictly necessary to respond to a public health emergency or an imminent threat to public health, or to consult and cooperate with the appropriate agencies of the federal government or of other states in accordance with the functions, powers, and duties of the department, and may share identified information in such circumstances only when strictly necessary and with the consent of the patient.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8556
SPONSOR: Reyes TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law and the civil practice law and rules,
in relation to sharing of certain information
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to make technical amendments to Chapter 138
of the Laws 2023 to ensure the Department of health is able to share
certain legally protected health activity information as necessary to
the federal government and other states and as required for federal
funding sources.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one would makes technical changes the civil practice law and
rules, as amended by Chapter 138 of the Laws of 2023, allowing the
Department of Health to share deidentified information as strictly
necessary to respond to a public health emergency and to comply with
certain reporting requirements, with the consent of the patient.
Section two would make a clarifying change to provide an exception to
the express consent requirement to allow a legal representative to bring
an action on behalf of an individual where express consent is not feasi-
ble due to a patient's injury or death.
Section three would establish the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Chapter 138 of the Laws of 2023 sought to build upon the abortion and
reproductive health services laws signed in June 2022 by explicitly
adding protections for telehealth and telehealth services. As many
states across the country have enacted abortion bans and draconian
reproductive rights restrictions following the Dobbs decision, this bill
filled an important gap by safeguarding health care practitioners in New
York from out-of- state activities that impede upon their ability to
provide necessary reproductive health services to patients.
Notably, a new definition was added. of "legally protected health activ-
ity" to encompass "reproductive health services," which explicitly
includes telehealth and telehealth services. •
Additionally, the bill amended the appropriate civil and criminal proce-
dure laws-concerning extradition, arrests, and coordination with any
out-of-state investigations or evidentiary requests-to operate as a
shield to New York health care practitioners who perform any legally
protected health activity against states who try to impose disciplinary
actions upon them. It also amended the education law to prevent New York
health care practitioners from professional disciplinary action for
legally protected health activity. The insurance law was amended to
prevent medical malpractice insurers from taking adverse action against
health care practitioners for legally protected health activity and
prevents insurance companies from imposing any annual deductibles or
coinsurance for legally protected health activity.
This bill seeks to make technical amendments to Chapter 138 of the Laws
of 2023 to allow certain reporting requirements of legally protected
health information. Often times states are required to report certain
incidents to various federal departments, during a health emergency, and
for funding sources, such as Medicaid. These amendments will allow the
Department of Health to share certain deidentified information as
strictly necessary. This information does not include identifying infor-
mation about an individual.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same manner as a
chapter of the laws of 2023 amending the criminal procedure, executive
law, civil practice law and rules, insurance law, and education law
relating to legally protected health activity providers as proposed in
legislative bills numbers S.1066-B and A.1709-B, takes effect.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8556
IN ASSEMBLY
January 9, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. REYES -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Codes
AN ACT to amend the executive law and the civil practice law and rules,
in relation to sharing of certain information
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 837-x of the executive law, as
2 amended and such section as renumbered by a chapter of the laws of 2023
3 amending the criminal procedure law, the executive law, the civil prac-
4 tice law and rules, the insurance law and the education law relating to
5 legally protected health activity providers, as proposed in legislative
6 bills numbers S.1066-B and A.1709-B, is amended to read as follows:
7 2. (a) No state or local government employee or entity or other person
8 acting on behalf of state or local government shall cooperate with or
9 provide information to any out-of-state individual or out-of-state agen-
10 cy or department regarding any legally protected health activity in this
11 state, or otherwise expend or use time, moneys, facilities, property,
12 equipment, personnel or other resources in furtherance of any investi-
13 gation or proceeding that seeks to impose civil or criminal liability or
14 professional sanctions upon a person or entity for any legally protected
15 health activity occurring in this state; except that the commissioner of
16 health may share deidentified information as strictly necessary to
17 respond to a public health emergency or an imminent threat to public
18 health, or to consult and cooperate with the appropriate agencies of the
19 federal government or of other states in accordance with the functions,
20 powers, and duties of the department as outlined under section two
21 hundred one of the public health law, and may share identified informa-
22 tion in such circumstances only when strictly necessary and with the
23 consent of the patient. For purposes of this section, "deidentified"
24 means that the information cannot identify or be made to identify or be
25 associated with a particular individual, directly or indirectly, and is
26 subject to technical safeguards and policies and procedures that prevent
27 reidentification, whether intentionally or unintentionally, of any indi-
28 vidual.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04071-10-4
A. 8556 2
1 (b) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the investigation of any
2 reproductive health services rendered in violation of the laws of this
3 state, provided that no information relating to any medical procedure
4 performed on a specific individual may be shared with an out-of-state
5 agency or any other individual. Nothing in this section shall prohibit
6 compliance with a valid, court-issued subpoena or warrant which does not
7 relate to a law seeking to impose civil or criminal liability or profes-
8 sional sanctions for a legally protected health activity, or in response
9 to the written request of a person who is the subject of such an inves-
10 tigation or proceeding, to the extent necessary, in each case, to
11 fulfill such request.
12 (c) Nothing in this section shall prohibit disclosure of deidentified
13 information in compliance with federal grant reporting requirements or
14 other reporting requirements under federal law.
15 (d) This section shall not be construed to allow for the provision of
16 any information to any individual or out-of-state agency or department
17 which would not otherwise be available under state law.
18 § 2. Paragraph 1 of subdivision (g) of section 3119 of the civil prac-
19 tice law and rules, as amended by a chapter of the laws of 2023 amending
20 the criminal procedure law, the executive law, the civil practice law
21 and rules, the insurance law and the education law relating to legally
22 protected health activity providers, as proposed in legislative bills
23 numbers S.1066-B and A.1709-B, is amended to read as follows:
24 (1) Out-of-state proceedings regarding legally protected health activ-
25 ities. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section or any other
26 law, no court or county clerk shall issue a subpoena under this
27 section in connection with an out-of-state proceeding relating to any
28 legally protected health activity which occurred in this state, unless
29 such out-of-state proceeding (i) sounds in tort or contract, (ii) is
30 actionable, in an equivalent or similar manner, under the laws of this
31 state, and (iii) was brought by the patient who received reproductive
32 health services as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of
33 section 570.17 of the criminal procedure law, or the patient's legal
34 representative, so long as the patient gives express consent unless
35 express consent is not feasible due to patient injury or death.
36 § 3. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same
37 manner as a chapter of the laws of 2023 amending the criminal procedure
38 law, the executive law, the civil practice law and rules, the insurance
39 law and the education law relating to legally protected health activity
40 providers, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.1066-B and
41 A.1709-B, takes effect.
