Assembly Bill A10067

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10067
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 30, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. JENSEN -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Health
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  public health law, in relation to directing the
   commissioner of health to integrate blockchain technology into its New
   York state of health  marketplace  and  statewide  health  information
   network  for  New York and improve interoperability of these two plat-
   forms

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. Fragmented medical records
 impose  substantial operational, administrative, and compliance costs on
 patients, providers, and insurers across the state.  Inefficient  health
 record management delays care, increases costs, and limits interoperabi-
 lity among healthcare providers. One study found that unnecessary admin-
 istrative spending costs the U.S. government $265 billion a year.
   To mitigate these challenges, New York should modernize its healthcare
 data  infrastructure  by  implementing  a  secure, interoperable, block-
 chain-enabled digital health identification system administered  by  the
 New  York  State Department of Health (DOH). Such a system would improve
 portability of records, enable real-time access for  authorized  provid-
 ers,  and reduce reliance on manual record transfers between clinics and
 healthcare facilities.
   New York already operates foundational  digital  health  systems.  The
 Affordable  Care  Act  established  the New York State of Health Market-
 place, which allows  individuals,  families,  and  small  businesses  to
 enroll  in  private  insurance plans with tax credits, as well as public
 programs including Medicaid and the Essential  Plan.  In  addition,  the
 Statewide  Health  Information  Network  for  New York (SHIN-NY) enables
 healthcare providers to securely exchange patient health records  state-
 wide.  Both  programs  are  overseen by the New York State Department of
 Health.
   However,  these  systems  currently  lack  full  interoperability  and
 unified  patient  identity  infrastructure. Integrating blockchain-based
 digital health IDs into the New York State  of  Health  Platform,  while
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD14566-01-6
 A. 10067                            2
 
 building upon the existing SHIN-NY framework, would allow for a unified,
 secure  health  account  for each patient, improving coordination across
 providers and payers. A digital health ID also provides individuals with
 sovereign  control  over  access  to personal records, secures data from
 fraud and identify theft, and ensures the health industry cannot  profit
 from selling your data.
   To build on this modernization effort, the Department of Health should
 also  explore the integration of smart contracts into the state's health
 insurance marketplace. Smart contracts are self-executing digital agree-
 ments that release funds only when predefined conditions are met.  Their
 use in insurance administration has the potential to reduce fraud, mini-
 mize human error, and accelerate claims processing.
   Healthcare fraud frequently occurs through practices such as upcoding,
 in which providers bill for more expensive services than were delivered,
 and unbundling, in which services that should  be  billed  as  a  single
 visit  are  instead billed separately. Smart contract-based claims proc-
 essing can help prevent these practices by ensuring claims are paid only
 when validated  conditions  are  satisfied,  thereby  reducing  improper
 payments and administrative inefficiencies.
   Integrating  digital ID and smart contracts into New York's healthcare
 framework will increase efficiency and  interoperability,  resulting  in
 cost savings for the state's hospital systems and patients.
   §  2.  Section 206 of the public health law is amended by adding a new
 subdivision 32 to read as follows:
   32. (A) THE COMMISSIONER SHALL CONDUCT A COMPREHENSIVE  STUDY  ON  THE
 INTEGRATION OF BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY INTO THE NY STATE OF HEALTH, ESTAB-
 LISHED  UNDER  TITLE  SEVEN  OF  THIS  ARTICLE, AND THE STATEWIDE HEALTH
 INFORMATION NETWORK OF NEW YORK. SUCH STUDY SHALL INCLUDE,  BUT  NOT  BE
 LIMITED TO:
   (I) THE USE OF DIGITAL HEALTH IDENTIFICATION ACCOUNTS;
   (II)  THE  APPLICATION OF SMART CONTRACTS IN INSURANCE ADMINISTRATION;
 AND
   (III) THE INTEROPERABILITY BETWEEN THE NY STATE OF HEALTH PLATFORM AND
 THE STATEWIDE HEALTH INFORMATION NETWORK OF NEW YORK.
   (B) ONE YEAR AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION, THE COMMIS-
 SIONER SHALL PUBLISH A REPORT BASED ON THE STUDY CONDUCTED  UNDER  PARA-
 GRAPH  (A)  OF THIS SUBDIVISION AND A DRAFT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR SUCH
 INTEGRATION OF BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY INTO THE NY STATE OF HEALTH AND THE
 STATEWIDE HEALTH INFORMATION NETWORK OF NEW YORK BASED ON  THE  FINDINGS
 OF  SUCH  STUDY.  THE  COMMISSIONER SHALL PROVIDE FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS ON
 SUCH REPORT AND DRAFT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR NO LESS THAN TWO MONTHS.
   (C) THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PUBLISH A FINALIZED IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR
 THE INTEGRATION OF BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY INTO THE NY STATE OF HEALTH AND
 THE STATEWIDE HEALTH INFORMATION NETWORK OF NEW YORK WITHIN THREE MONTHS
 OF THE END OF THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL CONSIDER
 ALL PUBLIC COMMENTS MADE DURING SUCH PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD WHEN  PRODUC-
 ING  SUCH  FINALIZED  IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL DIRECT
 THE DEPARTMENT AND ALL SUBDIVISIONS THEREOF TO  CARRY  OUT  ANY  ACTIONS
 NECESSARY TO IMPLEMENT SUCH PLAN.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.