NY State Senate Bill 2021-S4399

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Labor 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 05, 2022	referred to labor
Feb 04, 2021	referred to labor

co-Sponsors

2021-S4399 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A2127
Current Committee:: Senate Labor
Law Section:: Workers' Compensation Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§13-a & 21-a, Work Comp L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S8396, A10472
2023-2024: A2145
2025-2026: A4812

2021-S4399 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enacts the "COVID-19 injured workers' protection act"; establishes a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) presumption for public employee death benefits where a member was required to physically report to work; did in fact physically report to work as of March first, two thousand twenty; contracted COVID-19

2021-S4399 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S4399

SPONSOR: RAMOS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to the treat-
ment by a medical provider for the novel coronavirus, COVID-19

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To protect New York's COVID-19 affected injured workers by eliminating
the preauthorization provision to allow medical providers not otherwise
authorized to treat injured workers to render medical care and ensuring
that all injured workers are paid lost wage benefits at the temporary
total level until they are able to return to their place of pre-Covid-19
employment.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Creates a new subdivision 8 of the workers' compensation law
section 13-a to establish a presumption that medical providers treating

COVID-19 patients are doing so on an emergency basis so as not to
require the carrier's prior authorization for treatment, and to excuse
medical providers treating COVID-19 patients from being authorized by
the chair of the workmen's compensation board of the state of New York.

Section 2: Amends section 21-a of the workers' compensation law by
reducing the time period in which a carrier can pay a claim without
prejudice from one year to sixty days, providing injured workers with
certainty knowing that they will be better protected in the future.

Section 3: Sets the effective date.

 
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):

N/A

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Workers who contract COVID-19 should have the ability to obtain treat-
ment as expeditiously as possible, without medical providers having to
worry about authorizations under the Workers' Compensation Law or
obtaining prior approval in order to treat these patients. For more than
one hundred years, New York's injured workers have relied on the Work-
ers' Compensation Law for timely medical treatment and lost wage bene-
fits. Those suffering from COVID19 should be treated no differently, and
they certainly should not be forced to wait an entire year for their
claims to be adjudicated.

COVID-19 is a disease with devastating uncertainty, but what is certain
is that those working on the frontline during these times of crisis are
more likely to contract the disease than those who remain at home. New
York's essential workers are providing those items necessary to allow
the remainder of our population to survive by providing food, shelter,
safety and medical treatment.  As COVID-19 related cases are being
filed, precedent exists allowing for the payment of medical and monetary
benefits for these individuals. The existing law under section 21-a,
however, allows carriers and self-insureds to commence payment without
accepting or denying the particular case, giving these parties up to one
year to make a decision. In the meantime, the injured and sick worker is
left to wonder whether or not the medical bills are really going to be
paid, whether the money they receive will have to be paid back, all
without the means to effectively advocate for themselves.

Similarly, COVID-19 presents unique medical issues that are emergent and
life-threatening, impacting an unprecedented amount of workers who
require the services of many medical providers who otherwise do not
handle workers' compensation cases. These noble providers have no time
to seek authorization to treat nor should their patients' treatments be
stymied by preauthorization procedures during these times of crisis.

Our frontline workers and public servants, including the grocery clerks,
delivery people and everyone in between who have continued to dedicate
their time and health to their work throughout these difficult times
deserve to receive immediate medical care and to have their claims time-
ly adjudicated without bureaucratic delays.  Likewise, they should have
the peace of mind and certainty knowing that should they become
infected, disabled or even perish from this vicious disease, they or
their family will receive the workers' compensation benefits they
deserve.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2021-S4399 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4399
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 4, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens. RAMOS, HOYLMAN, JACKSON, MAY, SAVINO -- read twice
   and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee
   on Labor
 
 AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to the treat-
   ment by a medical provider for the novel coronavirus, COVID-19

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  This act shall be known and may be cited as the "COVID-19
 injured workers' protection act."
   § 2.  Section 13-a of the workers'  compensation  law  is  amended  by
 adding a new subdivision 8 to read as follows:
   (8)  (A)  IT  SHALL  BE  PRESUMED THAT TREATMENT RENDERED BY A MEDICAL
 PROVIDER FOR THE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS, COVID-19 WAS DONE SO ON AN  EMERGENT
 BASIS  SO  AS NOT TO REQUIRE PRIOR AUTHORIZATION PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION
 FIVE OF THIS SECTION.
   (B) MEDICAL PROVIDERS TREATING PATIENTS  FOR  THE  NOVEL  CORONAVIRUS,
 COVID-19 NEED NOT BE AUTHORIZED BY THE CHAIR PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION ONE
 OF THIS SECTION.
   §  3. Section 21-a of the workers' compensation law, as added by chap-
 ter 635 of the laws of 1996, subdivisions 1, 2 and 3 as amended by chap-
 ter 6 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:
   § 21-a. Temporary payment  of  compensation.  1.  Notwithstanding  any
 other  provision  of  this  chapter  to the contrary, in any instance in
 which an employer is unsure of the extent of its liability for  a  claim
 for  compensation  by an injured employee pursuant to this chapter, such
 employer may initiate compensation payments and payments for  prescribed
 medicine  and  continue such payments for [one year] SIXTY DAYS, without
 prejudice and without admitting liability, in accordance with  a  notice
 of  temporary  payment of compensation AT THE TEMPORARY TOTAL DISABILITY
 RATE, on a form prescribed by the board.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04939-01-1

 S. 4399                             2
 
   2. The notice of  temporary  payment  of  compensation  authorized  by
 subdivision  one  of  this  section  shall  be  delivered to the injured
 employee and the board. Such notice shall notify  the  injured  employee
 that the temporary payment of compensation and prescribed medicine shall
 not  be  deemed  to be an admission of liability by the employer for the
 injury or injuries to the employee. The board, upon receipt of a  notice
 of temporary payment of compensation, shall send a notice to the injured
 employee IN SIXTEEN POINT TYPE stating that:
   (a)  the  board  has received a notice of temporary payment of compen-
 sation relating to such injured employee;
   (b) the payment of temporary compensation and prescribed medicine  and
 the  injured  employee's  acceptance  of such temporary compensation and
 prescribed medicine shall not  be  an  admission  of  liability  by  the
 employer, nor prejudice the claim of the injured employee; AND
   (c)  the  payment  of  temporary  compensation and prescribed medicine
 shall terminate on the elapse of: [one year] SIXTY DAYS, or the  employ-
 er's  contesting  of  the  injured employee's claim for compensation and
 prescribed medicine, or the board determination of the  injured  employ-
 ee's claim, whichever is first[; and
   (d)  the  injured  employee may be required to enter into an agreement
 with the employer to ensure the continuation of  payments  of  temporary
 compensation and prescribed medicine].
   3. An employer may cease making temporary payments of compensation and
 prescribed medicine if such employer delivers within five days after the
 last  payment, to the injured employee and the board, a notice of termi-
 nation of temporary payments of compensation on a form prescribed by the
 board. Such notice shall inform the injured employee that  the  employer
 is  ceasing  temporary  payment of compensation and prescribed medicine.
 Upon the cessation of temporary payments of compensation and  prescribed
 medicine,  [all] THE BOARD SHALL IMMEDIATELY SCHEDULE A HEARING TO ADJU-
 DICATE THE CLAIM. ALL parties to any action  pursuant  to  this  chapter
 shall  retain  all rights, defenses and obligations they would otherwise
 have pursuant to this chapter without regard for the  temporary  payment
 of compensation and prescribed medicine.
   4.  The  failure  of an employer to provide the notice of termination,
 pursuant to subdivision three of this section, within [one  year]  SIXTY
 DAYS  of  the commencement of temporary payment of compensation shall be
 deemed to be an admission of liability by the employer and the notice of
 temporary payment of compensation shall be  converted  to  a  notice  of
 compensation payable.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S4399

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Labor Committee

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co-Sponsors

2021-S4399 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S4399 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S4399 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S4399 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

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Sponsored By

Jessica Ramos

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Labor Committee

Actions

co-Sponsors

Brad Hoylman-Sigal

Robert Jackson

Rachel May

Diane J. Savino

2021-S4399 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S4399 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S4399 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S4399 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments