Assembly Bill A244A

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  244--A
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 6, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M. of A. GOTTFRIED, THIELE, SEAWRIGHT, PAULIN, McDONALD,
   ABINANTI, LUPARDO, DINOWITZ, JACKSON, ENGLEBRIGHT, NOLAN, MEEKS, HEVE-
   SI, CAHILL, BRONSON, BARRON, MAGNARELLI, MONTESANO,  LAWLER,  SCHMITT,
   BRABENEC,  McDONOUGH,  SALKA, CUSICK, LUNSFORD, KELLES, BYRNE, ZEBROW-
   SKI, STECK, ANDERSON, SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Health -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted  as
   amended and recommitted to said committee
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  public  health law, in relation to creating the
   health emergency response data system
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  The  public health law is amended by adding a new section
 206-c to read as follows:
   § 206-C. HEALTH EMERGENCY RESPONSE DATA SYSTEM. 1. A. THE HEALTH EMER-
 GENCY RESPONSE DATA SYSTEM, REFERRED TO IN THIS SECTION AS  "HERDS",  IS
 HEREBY  CREATED  IN  THE DEPARTMENT. THE HERDS SHALL COLLECT INFORMATION
 AND STATISTICAL DATA, REFERRED TO IN THIS  SECTION  AS  "HERDS  INFORMA-
 TION",  RELATING  TO  PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES AND HEALTH CARE SERVICES
 RELATED TO PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES, IN ORDER TO ASSIST THE DEPARTMENT,
 OTHER GOVERNMENT ENTITIES, HEALTH CARE  PROVIDERS,  AND  THE  PUBLIC  IN
 UNDERSTANDING AND RESPONDING TO PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES.
   B. INDIVIDUALLY IDENTIFIABLE HERDS INFORMATION SHALL BE KEPT CONFIDEN-
 TIAL. HERDS INFORMATION DISCLOSED UNDER THIS SECTION SHALL BE AGGREGATED
 SO  IT  CANNOT BE INDIVIDUALLY IDENTIFIABLE, BUT IT SHALL CONTAIN SUFFI-
 CIENT DETAIL, SO IT REFERS TO SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHIC AREAS  AND  HOSPITALS,
 AS DEFINED IN ARTICLE TWENTY-EIGHT OF THIS CHAPTER.
   C. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL MAKE REGULATIONS IMPLEMENTING THIS SECTION.
   2.  A.  THE  HERDS  SHALL  COLLECT  HERDS  INFORMATION, INCLUDING FROM
 SURVEYS SUBMITTED BY HOSPITALS, NURSING HOMES,  AND  OTHER  HEALTH  CARE
 PROVIDERS, AS DETERMINED BY THE COMMISSIONER.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02797-02-1

 A. 244--A                           2
 
   B.  THE  HERDS  SHALL  BE  OPERATED  BY  THE DEPARTMENT, INCLUDING THE
 COLLECTING AND MAKING AVAILABLE INFORMATION, IN CONJUNCTION WITH AND  TO
 IMPROVE THE DEPARTMENT'S FULFILLMENT OF ITS RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER ARTI-
 CLES TWENTY-ONE AND FORTY-ONE OF THIS CHAPTER.
   §  2.  Paragraph  b  of  subdivision  2 of section 206-c of the public
 health law, as added by section one of this act, is amended to  read  as
 follows:
   b.    HERDS SHALL MAKE HERDS INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO GOVERNMENT ENTI-
 TIES, HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, AND THE PUBLIC, INCLUDING  POSTING  ON  THE
 DEPARTMENT'S  WEBSITE,  AS SOON AND AS CLOSE TO REAL TIME AS PRACTICABLE
 AFTER IT IS COLLECTED BUT NO LATER THAN SEVEN DAYS AFTER IT IS  RECEIVED
 BY THE DEPARTMENT.
   C.  The  HERDS  shall  be  operated  by  the department, including the
 collecting and making available information, in conjunction with and  to
 improve the department's fulfillment of its responsibilities under arti-
 cles twenty-one and forty-one of this chapter.
   §  3.  This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately; provided, however,
 section two of this act shall take effect on the sixtieth day  after  it
 shall  have  become  a  law.  Effective immediately, the commissioner of
 health shall make regulations and take other actions  reasonably  neces-
 sary to implement each section of this act on its effective date.