Senate Bill S7951

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7951
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 4, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Insurance
 
 AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to prohibiting  insurance
   companies  from  requiring  individuals to disclose if such individual
   has been diagnosed with an HIV infection prior to issuing life  insur-
   ance

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraphs 2 and 3 of subsection (a) of section 4224 of the
 insurance law, paragraph 2 as amended by chapter 713 of the laws of 1994
 and paragraph 3 as amended by chapter  13  of  the  laws  of  2002,  are
 amended and a new paragraph 4 is added to read as follows:
   (2)  refuse  to  insure,  refuse  to  continue  to insure or limit the
 amount, extent or kind of coverage available to an individual, or charge
 a different rate for the same coverage solely because of the physical or
 mental disability, impairment or disease, or prior history  thereof,  of
 the  insured  or potential insured, except where the refusal, limitation
 or rate differential is permitted by law or regulation and is  based  on
 sound  actuarial principles or is related to actual or reasonably antic-
 ipated experience, in which case the insurer[, subject  to  the  limita-
 tions  contained  in section twenty-six hundred eleven of this chapter,]
 shall notify the insured or potential insured of the right  to  receive,
 or  to  designate a medical professional to receive, the specific reason
 or reasons for such refusal, limitation or rate differential;
   (3) knowingly permit, and no agent thereof and no  licensed  insurance
 broker  shall  offer  to  make  or make, any policy of life insurance or
 annuity contract or agreement as to such policy or contract  other  than
 as plainly expressed in the policy or contract[.];
   (4)  REQUIRE  AN  INDIVIDUAL  TO  DISCLOSE IF SUCH INDIVIDUAL HAS BEEN
 DIAGNOSED WITH AN HIV INFECTION OR HIV-RELATED ILLNESS OR  REQUIRE  SUCH
 INDIVIDUAL  TO  SUBMIT TO AN HIV-RELATED TEST, PURSUANT TO SECTION TWEN-
 TY-SIX HUNDRED ELEVEN OF THIS CHAPTER, PRIOR TO ISSUING  OR  RENEWING  A
 LIFE  INSURANCE  POLICY  FOR SUCH INDIVIDUAL. AS USED IN THIS PARAGRAPH,
 THE  FOLLOWING  TERMS  SHALL  HAVE  THE  FOLLOWING  MEANINGS:  (I)  "HIV
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD08113-01-3
 S. 7951                             2
 
 INFECTION" SHALL MEAN AN INFECTION WITH THE HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS
 OR  ANY  OTHER RELATED VIRUS IDENTIFIED AS A PROBABLE CAUSATIVE AGENT OF
 AIDS, (II) "HIV-RELATED TEST" SHALL MEAN ANY LABORATORY TEST  OR  SERIES
 OF  TESTS FOR ANY VIRUS, ANTIBODY, ANTIGEN OR ETIOLOGIC AGENT WHATSOEVER
 THOUGHT TO CAUSE OR TO INDICATE THE PRESENCE OF AIDS, AND  (III)  "AIDS"
 SHALL  MEAN  AN  ACQUIRED  IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME, AS MAY BE DEFINED
 FROM TIME TO TIME BY THE CENTERS  FOR  DISEASE  CONTROL  OF  THE  UNITED
 STATES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE.
   §  2.  Section  2611  of  the insurance law is amended by adding a new
 subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
   (C-1) NO INSURER OR ITS DESIGNEE SHALL REQUEST OR REQUIRE AN  INDIVID-
 UAL PROPOSED FOR LIFE INSURANCE COVERAGE TO BE THE SUBJECT OF AN HIV-RE-
 LATED TEST PRIOR TO ISSUING OR RENEWING A LIFE INSURANCE POLICY FOR SUCH
 INDIVIDUAL.
   §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
 have become a law.