S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  2581--A
                                                            R. R. 206
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 17, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A. GONZALEZ-ROJAS, EPSTEIN, BURDICK, R. CARROLL,
   BARRETT, KIM, HEVESI, DINOWITZ, SAYEGH,  O'PHARROW,  LUNSFORD,  REYES,
   BRONSON  --  read  once  and  referred  to  the Committee on Health --
   reported and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means  --  reported
   and  referred  to the Committee on Rules -- ordered to a third reading
   -- amended on the special order of third reading, ordered reprinted as
   amended, retaining its place on the special order of third reading
 
 AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to the creation of  a
   women's  and  reproductive  health  services  education  and  outreach
   program
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section 266 of the public health law, as added by chapter
 342 of the laws of 2014, subdivision 2 as added  and  subdivision  3  as
 renumbered  by  chapter  76 of the laws of 2020, subdivisions 4 and 5 as
 added by chapter 66 of the laws of 2021, and subdivision 6 as  added  by
 chapter 653 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   §  266.  [Department website] WOMEN'S AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES
 EDUCATION AND OUTREACH PROGRAM. 1.  THERE IS HEREBY CREATED  WITHIN  THE
 DEPARTMENT  A  WOMEN'S  AND  REPRODUCTIVE  HEALTH SERVICES EDUCATION AND
 OUTREACH PROGRAM. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL CONDUCT  EDUCATION  AND  OUTREACH
 FOR CONSUMERS, PATIENTS, EDUCATORS, AND HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS RELATED TO
 WOMEN'S  AND  REPRODUCTIVE  HEALTH  SERVICES AVAILABLE IN NEW YORK STATE
 INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO:  PREVENTATIVE  CARE,  CANCER  SCREENINGS,
 ACCESS TO SERVICES SUCH AS CONTRACEPTIVES AND PREGNANCY TESTING, TESTING
 AND  TREATMENT FOR SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS, AND ANY OTHER REPRO-
 DUCTIVE HEALTH CONDITION OR  INFORMATION  THE  COMMISSIONER  SHALL  DEEM
 APPROPRIATE.
   2. The department shall establish and maintain an internet website for
 the  purpose  of advancing women's health initiatives. The website shall
 provide information AND MATERIALS for  the  purposes  of  educating  the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD06611-05-5
 A. 2581--A                          2
 
 public  and raising awareness of women's health issues, provide links to
 useful resources and encourage the use of services now made more  widely
 available to the women of New York state. The website shall also promote
 the  following preventative services now covered pursuant to federal law
 and regulation, and explain that such services must be covered  with  no
 cost sharing:
   (a) Anemia screening for pregnant women;
   (b)  Bacteriuria  urinary tract or other infection screening for preg-
 nant women;
   (c) BRCA counseling about genetic testing for women at higher risk;
   (d) Breast cancer mammography screenings every one to  two  years  for
 women over age forty;
   (e) Breast cancer chemoprevention counseling for women at higher risk;
   (f)  Breastfeeding  comprehensive  support and counseling from trained
 providers, as well as access to breastfeeding supplies, for pregnant and
 nursing women;
   (g) Cervical cancer screening for sexually active women;
   (h) Chlamydia infection screening for younger women and other women at
 higher risk;
   (i) Contraception: Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptive
 methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling,
 not including abortifacient drugs;
   (j) Domestic and interpersonal violence screening and  counseling  for
 all women;
   (k) Folic acid supplements for women who may become pregnant;
   (l)  Gestational  diabetes  screening for women twenty-four to twenty-
 eight weeks pregnant and those at high risk  of  developing  gestational
 diabetes;
   (m) Gonorrhea screening for all women at higher risk;
   (n)  Hepatitis  B screening for pregnant women at their first prenatal
 visit;
   (o) Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening  and  counseling  for
 sexually active women;
   (p)  Human  papillomavirus  (HPV)  DNA Test: high risk HPV DNA testing
 every three years for women with normal cytology results who are  thirty
 years of age or older;
   (q)  Osteoporosis screening for women over age sixty depending on risk
 factors;
   (r) RH incompatibility screening for all pregnant women and  follow-up
 testing for women at higher risk;
   (s)  Tobacco  use  screening  and  interventions  for  all  women, and
 expanded counseling for pregnant tobacco users;
   (t) Sexually transmitted  infections  (STI)  counseling  for  sexually
 active women;
   (u)  Syphilis  screening  for  all  pregnant  women  or other women at
 increased risk; and
   (v) Well-woman visits to obtain recommended preventive services.
   [2.] 3. THE DEPARTMENT MAY  PRODUCE,  MAKE  AVAILABLE  TO  OTHERS  FOR
 REPRODUCTION,  OR  CONTRACT  WITH OTHERS TO DEVELOP SUCH MATERIALS UNDER
 THIS SECTION AS THE COMMISSIONER  DEEMS  APPROPRIATE.  SUCH  INFORMATION
 SHALL BE POSTED ON THE WEBSITE IN A PRINTABLE FORMAT, IN EACH OF THE TOP
 SIX  LANGUAGES SPOKEN IN THE STATE, OTHER THAN ENGLISH, ACCORDING TO THE
 LATEST AVAILABLE DATA FROM THE UNITED STATES CENSUS BUREAU, TO ALLOW ALL
 GENERAL HOSPITALS,  DIAGNOSTIC  AND  TREATMENT  CENTERS,  OBSTETRICIANS,
 PRIMARY CARE PROVIDERS, MIDWIVES, AND OTHER HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS PROVID-
 ING  WOMEN'S  WELLNESS  SERVICES  TO  PROVIDE  THE  INFORMATION TO THEIR
 A. 2581--A                          3
 
 PATIENTS AS PART OF THEIR WELLNESS EDUCATION  OR  PRENATAL  CARE  ACTIV-
 ITIES.
   4.  IN EXERCISING ANY OF THE COMMISSIONER'S POWERS UNDER THIS SECTION,
 THE COMMISSIONER MAY CONSULT WITH APPROPRIATE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS,
 PROVIDERS, CONSUMERS, EDUCATORS AND PATIENTS OR ORGANIZATIONS REPRESENT-
 ING THEM.
   5. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL ENSURE THAT ALL  INFORMATION  AND  MATERIALS
 PRODUCED  PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION ARE MAINTAINED AND UPDATED TO REFLECT
 BEST PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS.
   6. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL ALSO  CONSIDER  MAKING  USE  OF  SOCIAL  MEDIA
 NETWORKS FOR THE PURPOSES OF ADVANCING SUCH INITIATIVES.
   7.  The commissioner shall develop and update as necessary information
 on possible complications from pregnancy that can endanger the  life  or
 health  of  the  newborn or the mother for purposes of advancing women's
 health initiatives, pursuant to subdivision [one] TWO of  this  section.
 Such  information  shall  be developed in consultation with any state or
 local government  maternal  mortality  review  boards  and  health  care
 providers  or  other  experts  in the field of women and newborn health.
 Such information shall be posted on the website in a  printable  format,
 in  each  of  the  top  six  languages  spoken  in the state, other than
 English, according to the latest available data from the  United  States
 Census  Bureau, to allow all general hospitals, diagnostic and treatment
 centers, obstetricians, primary  care  providers,  midwives,  and  other
 health  care programs providing women's wellness services to provide the
 information to their patients as part of  their  wellness  education  or
 prenatal care activities.
   [3.  The  department  shall  also  consider making use of social media
 networks for the purposes of advancing such initiatives.
   4.] 8. Information pursuant to subdivision two of this  section  shall
 include  information  related  to  pre-term  labor  and premature birth,
 including but not limited to definitions and information on the risks of
 pre-term labor and premature birth to the expectant mother and fetus, as
 well as signs and symptoms of pre-term labor. The information shall also
 include:
   (a) a statement that the medical assistance program provides  coverage
 for  all income-eligible pregnant women residing in the state regardless
 of immigration status; and
   (b) a statement informing individuals of  their  right  to  request  a
 hospital  discharge  review  in  accordance  with  section  twenty-eight
 hundred three-i of this article if they believe they are being asked  to
 leave a hospital too soon; and
   (c)  a  statement  informing individuals that hospitals must determine
 whether an expectant mother is experiencing an emergency medical  condi-
 tion,  and  upon  making  a diagnosis of an emergency medical condition,
 admit the expectant mother to the general hospital or treat them in  the
 emergency  room for close observation and continuous monitoring until it
 is deemed medically safe for discharge or transfer  in  accordance  with
 state  and  federal requirements including the federal Emergency Medical
 Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).
   [5.] 9. The department  shall  develop  educational  materials  to  be
 provided to emergency room medical staff regarding the state and federal
 discharge and transfer requirements.
   [6.]  10.  Cytomegalovirus.  (a)  In  addition to information provided
 pursuant to this section, the commissioner shall also develop comprehen-
 sive informational materials, which shall include, but  not  be  limited
 to,  the  symptoms,  the  risks,  the transmission and the prevention of
 A. 2581--A                          4
 
 cytomegalovirus and the effects that such virus may have on  a  pregnant
 individual, an individual who may become pregnant, and children.
   (b) i. The commissioner shall distribute such cytomegalovirus informa-
 tional materials to:
   (1)  licensed  physicians  who practice obstetric and/or gynecology in
 this state; and
   (2) those licensed to  practice  midwifery  pursuant  to  article  one
 hundred forty of the education law.
   ii.  Such  physicians  or  midwives  shall provide the cytomegalovirus
 informational materials to each pregnant patient during  such  patient's
 first appointment with such physician or midwife.
   11. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL TAKE ALL NECESSARY STEPS TO ENSURE THE CONFI-
 DENTIALITY OF PROVIDERS OF THESE SERVICES AND OF THE INDIVIDUALS RECEIV-
 ING  SERVICES  UNLESS NECESSARY FOR THE PURPOSE OF REFERRING INDIVIDUALS
 FOR REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION THREE  OF  THIS
 SECTION.  A  PROVIDER MAY REQUEST THAT THEIR INFORMATION BE OMITTED FROM
 DISSEMINATION UNDER THIS PROGRAM. THE COMMISSIONER MAY  MAINTAIN  AGGRE-
 GATE,  DE-IDENTIFIED  INFORMATION,  PROVIDED  THAT  NO INFORMATION WHICH
 ALONE OR IN COMBINATION WOULD PERMIT A PATIENT, PROVIDER, OR AN INDIVID-
 UAL WHO SOUGHT, RECEIVED, PROVIDED, OR SUPPORTED  HEALTH  CARE  SERVICES
 UNDER THE PROGRAM TO BE IDENTIFIED MAY BE REQUESTED OR SHARED.
   §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary  for  the  implementation  of
 this  act  on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
 on or before such effective date.