Senate Bill S9599

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9599

SPONSOR: BAILEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to including the recom-
mendations of certain entities in  the establishment of immunization
administration regulations

 
PURPOSE:

This bill would ensure that immunizations remain covered by health
insurance policies in New York. The bill would allow the Commissioner of
Health to make recommendations to the Superintendent of Financial
Services regarding immunizations that shall be covered by insurance,
utilizing generally accepted medical standards and taking into consider-
ation recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Ameri-
can Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Obstetricians
and Gynecologists, the American College of Physicians, and other
nationally or internationally recognized scientific organizations.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
              

Section 1 of the bill amends section 3216 of the insurance law to
require insurance coverage in the individual market to include immuniza-
tions recommended by the Commissioner of Health to the Superintendent of
Financial Services, utilizing generally accepted medical standards and
taking into consideration recommendations of the American Academy of
Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of
Physicians, and other nationally or internationally recognized scientif-
ic organizations.

Section 2 of the bill amends section 3221 of the Insurance Law to make
corresponding changes in the group markets.

Section 3 of the bill amends section 4303 of the Insurance Law to make
corresponding changes that apply to non-profit insurers, including
health maintenance organizations.

Section 4 of the bill amends and establishes an immediate effective
date.

 
EXISTING LAW:

Current state law governing health insurance coverage requirements for
immunizations are tied solely to recommendations made by the Advisory
Committee on Immunization Practices, a federal body charged with recom-
mending immunizations to the Center for Disease Control.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Protecting the health and well-being of New York residents is one of the
foremost responsibilities of the State government. One important part of
fulfilling this role is to ensure that residents have access to the
immunizations they need to stay healthy. Vaccines are safe and effective
and have proven to be one of the most successful public health inter-
ventions in history, significantly reducing childhood mortality and
morbidity from preventable disease.
Historically, the federal government has made recommendations regarding
immunizations based upon the rigorous evaluation of sound science and
medicine, and thus been aligned with New York state on immunization
policy. This alignment is reflected in current State law, which ties
health insurance coverage requirements to recommendations made by the
Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The Committee, which
advises the Center for Disease Control on immunization policy, has long
agreed with the scientific and medical consensus that immunizations are
critical to protecting public health and safety. Unfortunately, the
current federal administration does not share in this consensus and has
replaced many of the medical experts on the Committee with immunization
skepticsthat appear unwilling to maintain evidence-based immunization
recommendations that prioritize public health.

To ensure that New Yorkers continue to access life-saving immunizations
that are covered by insurance, it is essential to amend State law to
eliminate reliance solely on recommendations from the federal govern-
ment. The bill does so by requiring insurance coverage upon a recommen-
dation issued by the Commissioner of Health in consultation with trusted
scientific organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics,
the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of
Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Physicians, and
other nationally or internationally recognized scientific organizations
that continue to value recommendations grounded in the highest quality
scientific evidence.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

This is a new bill.

 
BUDGET IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediate.