Assembly Bill A8714

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8714
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               June 2, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. STECK, K. BROWN -- read once and referred to the
   Committee on Insurance
 
 AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to requiring  the  super-
   intendent  of financial services to audit certain reports submitted by
   insurers  to ensure such insurers are in full compliance with  federal
   and state mental health and substance use disorder parity requirements
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 343  of  the  insurance  law,  as
 added by chapter 207 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   (a)  (I)  Beginning  July  first,  two thousand nineteen and every two
 years thereafter, each insurer providing managed care products, individ-
 ual comprehensive accident and health  insurance  or  group  or  blanket
 comprehensive  accident and health insurance, each corporation organized
 pursuant to article forty-three of this chapter providing  comprehensive
 health insurance and each entity licensed pursuant to article forty-four
 of  the  public  health law providing comprehensive health service plans
 shall submit to the superintendent, in a form and manner  prescribed  by
 the  superintendent,  a  report  detailing  the entity's compliance with
 federal and state mental health and substance use disorder  parity  laws
 based  on  the  entity's record during the preceding two calendar years.
 The superintendent shall publish  on  the  department's  website  on  or
 before  October first, two thousand nineteen, and every two years there-
 after, the reports submitted pursuant to this section.
   (II) THE SUPERINTENDENT SHALL AUDIT EACH REPORT SUBMITTED PURSUANT  TO
 THIS SECTION.  SUCH AUDIT SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO, AN EXAM-
 INATION  OF EACH SUCH REPORT SUBMITTED BY THE INSURER FOR THE PURPOSE OF
 DETERMINING IF SUCH INSURER IS IN FULL COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL AND STATE
 MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER PARITY REQUIREMENTS.  IN  ADDI-
 TION,  THE  SUPERINTENDENT SHALL INVESTIGATE ALL CREDIBLE ALLEGATIONS OF
 INSURER IMPROPRIETIES AND NONCOMPLIANCE. WHERE THE SUPERINTENDENT  MAKES
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09643-01-5
              

 A. 8714                             2
 
 A  DETERMINATION THAT AN INSURER HAS WILLFULLY VIOLATED FEDERAL OR STATE
 MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER PARITY REQUIREMENTS, THE SUPER-
 INTENDENT SHALL PROVIDE SUCH FINDINGS, INCLUDING THE REASON  OR  REASONS
 FOR  MAKING  SUCH  DETERMINATION, TO THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.
 THE ATTORNEY GENERAL SHALL CONSIDER THE SUPERINTENDENT'S  FINDINGS  AND,
 UPON  AGREEMENT  WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT'S DETERMINATION, SHALL COMMENCE
 AN ACTION IN THE NAME OF THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE TO ENFORCE AN INSURER'S
 REQUIRED COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL AND STATE MENTAL HEALTH  AND  SUBSTANCE
 USE DISORDER PARITY REQUIREMENTS.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.