Assembly Bill A7843

                                BILL NUMBER:A7843A

TITLE  OF BILL:  An act to amend the social services law, in relation to
requiring the provision of  transportation  services  to  recipients  of
medical  assistance  for the purpose of transporting eligible recipients
of medical assistance from their residences to a  safe  location  during
the  provision  of extermination or pest control services, and to subse-
quently return such recipients to their residence  after  completion  of
such services

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The  bill  would  require  that  non-ambulatory  Medicaid  recipients be
provided with transportation services when  pest  control  services  are
scheduled for their residence.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Amends section 365-h of the social services law to add the provisions of
extermination  or pest control services to the list of reasons for which
a local social services official shall have the responsibility  to  pre-
authorize transportation for eligible Medicaid recipients.

JUSTIFICATION:
Ambulette  services  provide transportation to and from facilities which
provide medical care.   Unlike other transportation  options,  ambulette
services  provide  personal  assistance  to  clients,  such  as physical
assistance, to ensure that a client  receives  safe  access  from  their
              

place of residence to their health care provider.

The  Department of Health's Medicaid Program provides ambulette services
for recipients who require necessary medical care and  cannot  otherwise
travel to receive that care. To qualify for an ambulette service recipi-
ents  must meet Social Services Law Section 365-h standards which gener-
ally means that they have a disabling physical or  mental  condition  or
are  undergoing treatments that render otherwise ambulatory persons to a
status where they require personal assistance.

This bill seeks to expand these services to situations where a  Medicaid
recipient's  place  of  residence is undergoing pest control or extermi-
nation service. The existence of vermin or rodents in a person's home is
a significant health hazard, and this may be especially true for  nonam-
bulatory  persons  who  spend  a  greater amount of time in their homes.
Also, pest control and extermination services may sometimes  employ  the
use  of chemicals which are toxic to humans.  If residents of a dwelling
must leave their home during the application of such a pest  control  or
extermination  process  in order to ensure safe administration, it is in
the public interest to provide that qualifying Medicaid recipients  have
the  means  necessary  to  be  transported safely to a safe location and
subsequently be brought back to their homes when it is safe to return.

This also serves the greater  public  interest  because  in  a  multiple
dwelling  the  inability  of a recipient to safely leave his or her home
during the provision of pest control or extermination services may delay

or prevent other residents from receiving these services,  allowing  the
health  hazard  to  persist.  Incidents like these have caused difficult
situations between landlords and nonambulatory tenants, since  landlords
have  a  legal  responsibility to provide pest control and extermination
services during an infestation. It is in the greater public interest  to
ensure  that  the  health  hazard  of  a vermin or rodent infestation is
addressed, that a qualifying Medicaid recipient is able to receive  safe
transport   during  the  provision  of  pest  control  or  extermination
services, and that the housing needs of a recipient are not threatened.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Unknown.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act would take effect on the first January next succeeding the date
upon which it shall have become law; provided that effective  immediate-
ly,  the  addition,  amendment  and/or  repeal of any rule or regulation
necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective  date  are
authorized  and  directed  to  be  made  and completed on or before such
effective date.