Senate Bill S2739

2017-2018 Legislative Session

Requires hospitals and physicians to include certain information regarding military service of patients or persons close to patients on admission forms

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Archive: Last 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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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 17, 2017	referred to health

2017-S2739 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §2805-b, add Art 26-B §2640, Pub Health L
Versions Introduced in 2015-2016 Legislative Session:: S6077

2017-S2739 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires hospitals and physicians to include information regarding military service of patients or persons close to patients on admission forms, including, but not limited to, who served in the military, where and when did the person serve, what was their job description, and are they currently registered with the veterans administration and/or receiving benefits from the veterans administration.

2017-S2739 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S2739

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the public health law, in relation
to requiring hospitals and physicians to include certain information
regarding military service of patients or persons close to patients on
admission forms

 PURPOSE :

This bill will help assure certain medical conditions and medical
information is addressed by medical doctors with patients that may
have been veterans and then using that information to better serve
that particular patient.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 2805-b of the public health law,
as amended; effective 12/05/16 by chapter 64 of the laws of 2016, is
amended to read as follows:

5. The staff of a general hospital shall: (a) inquire whether the
person admitted has served in the United State armed forces. The
admissions form shall include information include information, but not
limited to whether the patient or someone close to the patient has
ever served in the military, who served in the military, when and
where did the person serve, what was the person in the military's job

description, whether the patient is currently registered with the
veterans administration, and whether the patient is currently
receiving any benefits from the veterans administration

(b) notify any admittee who is a veteran of the possible availability
of services at a hospital operated by the veterans administration,
and, upon request by the admittee, such staff shall make arrangements
for the individual's transfer to a veterans administration operated
hospital. Transfers shall be authorized only after it has been
determined, according to accepted clinical and medical standards, that
the patient's condition has stabilized and transfer can be
accomplished safely and without complication. The commissioner shall
promulgate rules and regulations for notifying such admittees of
possible available service s and for arranging a requested transfer.

§2. This act shall take effect immediately.

 EXISTING LAW :

No law currently addresses this issue

 JUSTIFICATION :

When a patient answers "no" to a single question, "Have you ever
served in the military?" his or her service history has been
completed. however the 21 million patients who answer "yes" will
benefit because possible service-related causes will now be included
in the differential diagnosis of their medical complaints, and
statistical correlations between a risk like dioxin exposure and
medical illness might be made years earlier. (Some Vietnam-era
veterans might have received treatment and disability benefits 20 to
30 years sooner and others might not have died in the interim.) If
every adult patient is asked this single question, pooled electronic
health data could be used to detect association between illness and
deployment.  This will be especially important for female soldiers who
require ongoing monitoring for possible complications of pregnancy and
birth defects.  And physicians might now refer underinsured veterans
to Veterans Affairs Facilities for treatment they could not otherwise
afford.  Although teaching how and why to take a. military health
history should be taught in medical school curricula along with other
medical history questions we can begin with simply asking these few
questions to start a dialogue.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

REFERRED TO RULES 10/27/15 - S6077A
REFERRED TO HEALTH 01/06/16 - S6077A

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None to the state

 LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
act shall take effect immediately

2017-S2739 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2739
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 17, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. LATIMER -- 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  hospi-
   tals  and physicians to include certain information regarding military
   service of patients or persons close to patients on admission forms

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision 5 of section 2805-b of the public health law,
 as amended by chapter 64 of the laws of 2016,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   5.  The  staff of a general hospital shall: (a) inquire whether or not
 the person admitted has served in the United States armed forces.  [Such
 information  shall  be  listed on the] THE admissions form SHALL INCLUDE
 INFORMATION INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WHETHER THE PATIENT OR  SOME-
 ONE  CLOSE TO THE PATIENT HAS EVER SERVED IN THE MILITARY, WHO SERVED IN
 THE MILITARY, WHEN AND WHERE DID THE PERSON SERVE, WHAT WAS  THE  PERSON
 IN  THE  MILITARY'S  JOB  DESCRIPTION,  WHETHER THE PATIENT IS CURRENTLY
 REGISTERED WITH THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION, AND WHETHER THE PATIENT  IS
 CURRENTLY  RECEIVING  ANY BENEFITS FROM THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION; (b)
 notify any admittee who is a veteran of  the  possible  availability  of
 services  at  a  hospital  operated by the veterans administration, and,
 upon request by the admittee, such staff shall make arrangements for the
 individual's transfer to a veterans  administration  operated  hospital,
 provided,  however, that transfers shall be authorized only after it has
 been determined, according to accepted clinical and  medical  standards,
 that  the  patient's condition has stabilized and transfer can be accom-
 plished safely and without complication; and (c)  provide  any  admittee
 who  has  served  in  the  United States armed forces with a copy of the
 "Information for Veterans concerning Health Care  Options"  fact  sheet,
 maintained  by the division of veterans' affairs pursuant to subdivision
 twenty-three of section three hundred fifty-three of the  executive  law
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD00935-01-7

 S. 2739                             2
 
 prior to discharging or transferring the patient. The commissioner shall
 promulgate  rules and regulations for notifying such admittees of possi-
 ble available services and for arranging a requested transfer.
   § 2.  The public health law is amended by adding a new article 26-B to
 read as follows:
                               ARTICLE 26-B
                          MILITARY SERVICE INQUIRY
 SECTION 2640. MILITARY SERVICE; DUTY TO INQUIRE AND RECORD.
   §  2640. MILITARY SERVICE; DUTY TO INQUIRE AND RECORD. 1. EVERY PHYSI-
 CIAN SHALL INQUIRE OF EVERY RESIDENT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COMING  TO
 SUCH  PHYSICIAN FOR SERVICES OR TREATMENT WHETHER THE PERSON IS A VETER-
 AN, AS DEFINED IN SECTION EIGHTY-FIVE OF  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  LAW,  AND
 SHALL  RECORD  THE  ANSWERS  TO  SUCH  INQUIRY  IN THE PATIENT'S MEDICAL
 RECORD. THE PHYSICIAN SHALL RECORD, AT A MINIMUM, THE FOLLOWING INFORMA-
 TION: WHETHER THE PATIENT OR SOMEONE  CLOSE  TO  THE  PATIENT  HAS  EVER
 SERVED  IN  THE MILITARY, WHO SERVED IN THE MILITARY, WHEN AND WHERE DID
 THE PERSON SERVE, WHAT WAS THE PERSON IN THE MILITARY'S JOB DESCRIPTION,
 WHETHER THE PATIENT IS CURRENTLY REGISTERED WITH THE  VETERANS  ADMINIS-
 TRATION,  AND  WHETHER  THE  PATIENT IS CURRENTLY RECEIVING ANY BENEFITS
 FROM THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION.
   2. EACH PHYSICIAN PROVIDING SERVICES OR  TREATMENT  TO  A  VETERAN  OR
 SOMEONE  CLOSE  TO  A  VETERAN SHALL NOTIFY SUCH PATIENT OF THE POSSIBLE
 AVAILABILITY OF SERVICES AT A HOSPITAL OPERATED BY THE VETERANS ADMINIS-
 TRATION AND, UPON REQUEST BY THE PATIENT, SUCH PHYSICIAN SHALL  TRANSFER
 THE  PATIENT'S  MEDICAL RECORDS TO SUCH HOSPITAL. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL
 PROMULGATE RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR NOTIFYING SUCH PATIENT OF  POSSIBLE
 AVAILABLE SERVICES AND FOR ARRANGING FOR A TRANSFER OF MEDICAL RECORDS.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S2739

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Actions

2017-S2739 (ACTIVE) - Details

2017-S2739 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2017-S2739 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2017-S2739 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

George Latimer

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Actions

2017-S2739 (ACTIVE) - Details

2017-S2739 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2017-S2739 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2017-S2739 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments