NY State Senate Bill 2023-S1052

Senate Bill S1052

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Relates to a report on the adequacy, reasonableness and affordability of insurance products designed to pay for the future medical expenses of certain injured plaintiffs

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Insurance 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 insurance
Jan 09, 2023	referred to insurance

2023-S1052 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Insurance
Law Section:: Insurance
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S9214

2023-S1052 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires a review and report by the superintendent of financial services, in consultation with the office of court administration, on the adequacy, reasonableness and affordability of insurance products designed to pay for the future medical expenses of injured plaintiffs who receive a judgment or settlement for damages that include future medical expenses.

2023-S1052 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S1052

SPONSOR: COONEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act in relation to requiring a review and report on the adequacy,
reasonableness and affordability of insurance products designed to pay
for the future medical expenses of injured plaintiffs who receive a
judgment or settlement for damages that include future medical expenses;
and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 - Statement of legislative findings.

Section 2 - The superintendent of financial services shall, in consulta-
tion  with  the office of court administration, review and report on the
adequacy,  reasonableness  and  affordability  of   insurance   products
designed  to  pay  for the future medical expenses of injured plaintiffs
who receive a judgment or settlement for  damages  that  include  future
medical expenses.

Section 3 - Requires the DFS Superintendent to submit such report to the

Governor,  Temporary President of the Senate and Assembly Speaker within
270 days of the bill's effective date.

Section 4 - Effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The costs of medical malpractice payouts in New York are significant for
the  defendant  medical  professionals,  medical  groups  and  hospitals
responsible  for  these  payouts  to successful plaintiffs. In fact, New
York's medical malpractice liability insurance  payouts,  which  are  an
excellent  measure  of the overall cost of the New York medical malprac-
tice system, have routinely lead the nation by a large amount.   Accord-
ing  to  Diederich  Healthcare's report "2020 Medical Malpractice Payout
Analysis", New York was the clear leader in medical malpractice  payouts
in  2019  with  a  total of $661,703,250 in-payments.  New York was also
second in the nation on a per capita basis, with a per capita amount  of
$34.01.  The second highest state, Pennsylvania, had a payout total that
was over $260 million less than New York.

The COVID-19 outbreak highlighted the essential role these  health  care
providers  play in New York state's protection of the health and welfare
of its residents. One  component  of  the  medical  malpractice  lawsuit
payouts  that  are  extremely costly are future medical expenses for the
injured plaintiff. The tremendous financial impact upon the health  care
community  due  to  the ongoing and growing costs of medical malpractice
payouts highlights the need to examine the possibility  of  the  current
market  for insurance products, such as annuities, to lessen the tremen-
dous financial burden of these payouts on the vital health care services
the New York health care community provides to all New Yorkers.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-22: S.9214

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This  act  shall  take effect immediately and shall expire and be deemed
repealed on the sixtieth day after the submission of the report required
by section of this act; provided that the  superintendent  of  financial
services  shall notify the legislative bill drafting commission upon the
submission of the report required by section three of this act in  order
that  the  commission may maintain an accurate and timely effective data
base of the official text of the laws of the state of New York in furth-
erance of effectuating the provisions of section 44 of  the  legislative
law and section 70-b of the public officers law.

2023-S1052 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1052
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 9, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  COONEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Insurance
 
 AN ACT in relation to requiring a review and  report  on  the  adequacy,
   reasonableness and affordability of insurance products designed to pay
   for  the  future  medical expenses of injured plaintiffs who receive a
   judgment  or  settlement  for  damages  that  include  future  medical
   expenses; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expira-
   tion thereof
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The legislature hereby finds  that  the  costs  of  medical
 malpractice  payouts  are  significant for the defendant medical profes-
 sionals, medical groups and hospitals responsible for these  payouts  to
 successful  plaintiffs.  The COVID-19 outbreak highlighted the essential
 role these health care providers play in New York state's protection  of
 the  health  and  welfare of its residents. One component of the medical
 malpractice lawsuit payouts that are extremely costly are future medical
 expenses for the injured plaintiff. The tremendous financial impact upon
 the health care community due  to  the  ongoing  and  growing  costs  of
 medical malpractice payouts highlights the need to examine the possibil-
 ity  of  the  current market for insurance products such as annuities to
 lessen the tremendous financial burden of these  payouts  on  the  vital
 health  care services the New York health care community provides to all
 New Yorkers.
   § 2. The superintendent of financial services shall,  in  consultation
 with  the  office  of  court  administration,  review  and report on the
 adequacy,  reasonableness  and  affordability  of   insurance   products
 designed  to  pay  for the future medical expenses of injured plaintiffs
 who receive a judgment or settlement for  damages  that  include  future
 medical expenses.  Such report shall include but not be limited to:

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02694-01-3
 S. 1052                             2

 
   (a) the present state of the marketplace regarding insurance products,
 including  but  not  limited  to  annuities,  that could be purchased by
 defendants to satisfy the future medical expenses incurred by plaintiffs
 who receive either a judgment or settlement for future medical  expenses
 damages;
   (b)  the  experience of states and jurisdictions as far as such insur-
 ance products and any laws either allowing or  requiring  defendants  to
 purchase  such insurance products to satisfy the future medical expenses
 portion of a judgment or settlement; and
   (c) recommendations to promote reasonable, adequate and cost-effective
 insurance products available for defendants to purchase such products.
   § 3. Within two hundred seventy days of the  effective  date  of  this
 act,  the  superintendent of financial services shall submit such report
 to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, and the  speaker
 of the assembly.
   §  4.  This  act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be
 deemed repealed on the sixtieth day after the submission of  the  report
 required  by section three of this act; provided that the superintendent
 of financial services shall notify the legislative bill drafting commis-
 sion upon the submission of the report required by section three of this
 act in order that the commission may maintain  an  accurate  and  timely
 effective data base of the official text of the laws of the state of New
 York  in furtherance of effectuating the provisions of section 44 of the
 legislative law and section 70-b of the public officers law.

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