NY State Senate Bill 2023-S3333

Senate Bill S3333

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Requires the commissioner of health to promulgate rules and regulations related to the timeframe for increases to patients' bills

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to health
Jan 30, 2023	referred to health

2023-S3333 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A5064
Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §206, Pub Health L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S7523, A8676

2023-S3333 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires the commissioner of health, in conjunction with the superintendent of financial services, to promulgate rules and regulations requiring that any increase in a bill from a hospital or health system or health care provider shall be sent to a patient no later than ninety days after the original bill was paid in full by such patient and good cause be shown for such increase, unless such increase is the result of any action by such patient.

2023-S3333 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S3333

SPONSOR: MAYER
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring the
commissioner of health to promulgate rules and regulations related to
the timeframe for increases to patients' bills

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To hold patients harmless for increases to medical bills which occur
after the amount of the original bill has been paid in full.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 requires the commissioner of the department of health to
promulgate rules and regulations to ensure that no patient shall be
responsible for increases to medical bills after such bills are paid,
unless the billing party can show good cause and provides notice to the
patient within 90 days of payment being made. The language provides an
exception, however, for increases warranted by an action of the patient.

Such rules and regulations must stipulate the proper form that notice
must take for a change to a medical bill and delineate a process for
determining responsibility for amounts for which patients are not
responsible as a result of this legislation.

Section 2 sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Currently, providers may increase a patient's medical bill at any time
-- even if it has been paid in full. This can place an undue burden on
patients -- for example, a parent paid the medical bill for her child's
emergency room visit. More than a year later, she received notice that
the bill was increased and she would be responsible for paying the addi-
tional sum. Patients should have confidence that when they are billed
for medical expenses that the amounts they have paid are all they owe.
Furthermore, the challenges of such late increases to medical bills fall
disproportionately on those who can least bear additional expenses.
Knowing that one has fully paid their medical bills allows for greater
certainty in managing one's finances.

This legislation prohibits insurance companies, hospitals, health
systems, and healthcare providers from increasing the amount owed on
medical bills after such amounts are paid. The bill would give providers
and insurers a ninety-day grace period to amend the bill after payment
is made if there is a good cause reason why a higher amount should be
due and makes allowance for instances in which the patient takes an
action which causes the higher bill. Additionally, the rules and regu-
lations to be promulgated require that a process be put in place to
determine responsibility for any amounts that a patient would otherwise
be responsible for were it not for this necessary and proper change in
law. This modest legislative proposal is another step forward for
patient rights and fairness in the patient-unfriendly realm of medical
billing.

 
PRIOR LIEG/SLATIVE HISTORY:

S7523/ A8676 (2021-22): Referred to Health

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
The provisions of the bill shall take effect immediately after the bill
becomes law.

2023-S3333 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   3333
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 30, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MAYER  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
 
 AN ACT to amend the public health law,  in  relation  to  requiring  the
   commissioner  of health to promulgate rules and regulations related to
   the timeframe for increases to patients' bills

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 206 of the public health law is amended by adding a
 new subdivision 32 to read as follows:
   32. (A) THE COMMISSIONER SHALL, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT
 OF  FINANCIAL  SERVICES, PROMULGATE RULES AND REGULATIONS PROVIDING THAT
 NO PATIENT SHALL BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY AMOUNTS FOR WHICH A PATIENT
 WOULD OTHERWISE BE LIABLE AS A RESULT OF AN INCREASE IN ANY BILL FROM  A
 HEALTH  INSURANCE  COMPANY,  HOSPITAL  OR  HEALTH  SYSTEM OR HEALTH CARE
 PROVIDER AFTER THE DATE ON WHICH ALL AMOUNTS DUE UNDER THE ORIGINAL BILL
 WERE PAID IN FULL UNLESS  THE  HEALTH  INSURANCE  COMPANY,  HOSPITAL  OR
 HEALTH  SYSTEM  OR  HEALTH  CARE  PROVIDER, AS APPLICABLE, CAN SHOW GOOD
 CAUSE FOR SUCH INCREASE AND SENDS NOTICE OF SUCH INCREASE TO THE PATIENT
 NO LATER THAN NINETY DAYS AFTER THE AMOUNT DUE BY  THE  PATIENT  IN  THE
 ORIGINAL  BILL  WAS PAID IN FULL.  NO HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANY, HOSPITAL
 OR HEALTH SYSTEM OR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER MAY SEND NOTICE TO A PATIENT OF
 ANY INCREASE IN A BILL UNLESS SUCH HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANY, HOSPITAL OR
 HEALTH SYSTEM OR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER SENDS SUCH  NOTICE  PRIOR  TO  THE
 EXPIRATION  OF SUCH NINETY DAY PERIOD AND CAN SHOW THE GOOD CAUSE REASON
 FOR SUCH INCREASE. THE FOREGOING RESTRICTIONS IN THIS SUBDIVISION  SHALL
 NOT  APPLY  TO  AN  INCREASE  WHICH  IS  THE RESULT OF AN ACTION BY SUCH
 PATIENT WARRANTING SUCH INCREASE.
   (B) FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION:
   (I) "PATIENT" SHALL MEAN THE INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING MEDICAL SERVICES  OR
 THE INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING THE BILL ON BEHALF OF THE INDIVID-
 UAL RECEIVING MEDICAL SERVICES; AND
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06983-01-3

 S. 3333                             2
 
   (II)  "GOOD  CAUSE"  SHALL MEAN A CLERICAL ERROR, TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR,
 SCRIVENER'S ERROR OR COMPUTER ERROR, UNLESS A  PATTERN  OF  SUCH  ERRORS
 EXISTS,  FRAUDULENT  BILLING  IS  ALLEGED, OR SUCH ERROR IS DUE TO GROSS
 NEGLIGENCE, RECKLESSNESS, WILLFUL  MALFEASANCE  OR  OTHER  ACTION  TAKEN
 WHICH IS NOT IN GOOD FAITH.
   (C)  THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL NOT APPLY TO HEALTH CARE SERVICES, INCLUD-
 ING EMERGENCY SERVICES, WHERE PHYSICIAN FEES ARE SUBJECT TO SCHEDULES OR
 OTHER MONETARY LIMITATIONS UNDER ANY OTHER LAW, INCLUDING  THE  WORKERS'
 COMPENSATION  LAW  AND ARTICLE FIFTY-ONE OF THE INSURANCE LAW, AND SHALL
 NOT PREEMPT ANY SUCH LAW.
   (D) THE RULES AND  REGULATIONS  REQUIRED  BY  THIS  SUBDIVISION  SHALL
 INCLUDE, AT A MINIMUM:
   (I)  A REQUIREMENT THAT AN EXPLANATION FOR ANY INCREASE IN A PATIENT'S
 BILL SHALL BE PROVIDED IN PLAIN LANGUAGE IN  CONSPICUOUS    TWELVE-POINT
 BOLD FACE TYPE AND SHALL BE AVAILABLE IN THE TOP SIX LANGUAGES SPOKEN IN
 THE HOSPITAL'S SERVICE AREA; AND
   (II)  A  PROCESS  TO  DETERMINE RESPONSIBILITY FOR AMOUNTS FOR WHICH A
 PATIENT IS NOT RESPONSIBLE BY REASON OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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