Assembly Bill A10383

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10383
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               March 3, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. RA -- read once and referred to the Committee on
   Health
 
 AN ACT directing the department of health to study and  plan  for  inte-
   grating  blockchain  technology  into  the  New  York  State of Health
   Marketplace and the Statewide Health Information Network for New  York
   (SHIN-NY)  to  improve  interoperability  and  efficiency across these
   platforms

   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
 drive delays, costs, and compliance burdens for patients, providers, and
 insurers.  To  address  this, New York should modernize its data infras-
 tructure with a secure, interoperable, blockchain-enabled digital health
 ID administered by the department of health, improving record  portabil-
 ity, real-time authorized access, and reducing manual transfers.
   New York already operates the New York State of Health Marketplace and
 the  SHIN-NY  health  information  network, both under the department of
 health. However, they lack full interoperability and a  unified  patient
 identity.  Integrating  blockchain-based  digital  IDs into the New York
 State of Health and building on SHIN-NY would  create  a  single  secure
 health  account per patient, strengthen coordination among providers and
 payers, enhance user control over data access, reduce fraud and identity
 theft, and limit commercial misuse of  personal  data.  These  IDs  also
 provide  individuals  with  sovereign  control  over  access to personal
 records and secure data from fraud and identity theft.
   The department of health should also evaluate smart contracts  in  the
 insurance  marketplace.  These  self-executing agreements can cut fraud,
 errors, and processing time  by  releasing  funds  only  when  validated
 conditions are met, helping prevent upcoding and unbundling while yield-
 ing cost savings across hospital systems and for patients.
   §  2.  Study  and  draft  implementation plan. The commissioner of the
 department of health is hereby directed to conduct a comprehensive study
 and produce a draft implementation plan examining the feasibility, bene-
 fits, risks, costs, and operational impacts  of  integrating  blockchain
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD14785-01-6
 A. 10383                            2
 
 technology  into  the  New York State of Health Marketplace and SHIN-NY,
 consistent with state and federal privacy,  security,  and  data-sharing
 laws, including, but not limited to:
   1. the use of secure, privacy-preserving digital health identification
 accounts;
   2.  the  application  of  smart contracts in insurance administration,
 including eligibility verification, enrollment, and  claims  processing;
 and
   3.  interoperability between the New York State of Health platform and
 SHIN-NY, including standards for data governance, access  controls,  and
 auditability.
   § 3. Report. The commissioner of the department of health shall submit
 a  report  of  the study's findings and the draft implementation plan to
 the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of  the
 assembly,  the minority leader of the senate, and the minority leader of
 the assembly no later than one year after the  effective  date  of  this
 act.  The study and draft implementation plan shall also be made public-
 ly available on the department's website.
   §  4.  Public comment. Upon completion, the department of health shall
 release the study and draft implementation plan  for  a  public  comment
 period of no less than two months, and shall actively solicit input from
 stakeholders,  including  health care providers, insurers, patient advo-
 cates, privacy experts, and technology experts.
   § 5. Final plan.  Following  consideration  of  public  comments,  the
 department  of  health shall finalize the implementation plan and submit
 the final plan to the governor and the  legislature.  No  implementation
 actions  shall be undertaken unless authorized by subsequent legislative
 enactment or existing law.
   § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.