Senate Bill S9613

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9613
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 30, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. HINCHEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
 
 AN ACT to amend the public health law,  in  relation  to  the  statewide
   advance  care  planning  public  awareness campaign and to establish a
   community-based advance care  planning  outreach  grant  program;  and
   making an appropriation therefore

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the "Serious Illness Care Equity Act".
   §  2.  Legislative  findings  and  purpose. The legislature finds that
 advance care planning is essential to  ensuring  that  individuals  with
 serious illness receive care aligned with their values, preferences, and
 goals.  Although  chapter 406 of the laws of 2022 authorized a statewide
 advance care planning public awareness campaign,  such  a  campaign  has
 neither been funded nor implemented. The purpose of this act is to oper-
 ationalize that authority, expand equitable access to advance care plan-
 ning  education,  and establish a community-based outreach grant program
 to address persistent racial, cultural, and linguistic disparities.
   § 3. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 1  of  section  207  of  the  public
 health  law,  as  amended by chapter 406 of the laws of 2022, is amended
 and a new paragraph (e-1) is added to read as follows:
   (e) (I) The commissioner shall  establish  a  statewide  advance  care
 planning campaign to:
   [(i)]  (1)  promote  public  awareness  of hospice and palliative care
 services[;], and palliative care options for patients  with  a  terminal
 illness or condition;
   [(ii)]  (2)  inform the public of the importance of advance care plan-
 ning and the individual's right to direct and participate in health care
 decisions affecting the individual;
   [(iii)] (3) educate individuals on the tools available to ensure their
 health care decisions are honored; and
   [(iv)] (4)  HIGHLIGHT  the  need  and  importance  for  consumers  and
 patients to have an advance directive, particularly a health care proxy,
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD14727-02-6
 S. 9613                             2
 
 and  the need and importance for health care providers to play a leader-
 ship role in discussing end-of-life care  preferences  and  values  with
 patients and to provide patients with health care proxy forms.
   (II)  THE  DEPARTMENT SHALL IMPLEMENT THE STATEWIDE ADVANCE CARE PLAN-
 NING PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN AUTHORIZED PURSUANT  TO  THIS  PARAGRAPH,
 BOTH  DIRECTLY  AND  VIA  THE COMMUNITY-BASED OUTREACH GRANTS AUTHORIZED
 PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (E-1) OF THIS  SUBDIVISION.  SUCH  CAMPAIGN  SHALL
 INCLUDE  STATEWIDE  MEDIA  OUTREACH  IN  MULTIPLE  LANGUAGES; CULTURALLY
 TAILORED MESSAGING FOR UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES; DISSEMINATION  OF  WRIT-
 TEN,  DIGITAL, AND BROADCAST EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS; DEVELOPMENT OF TOOLS
 TO SUPPORT ADVANCE DIRECTIVES AND SERIOUS ILLNESS  DECISION-MAKING;  AND
 ENHANCEMENT OF DIGITAL NAVIGATION RESOURCES.
   (E-1)  (I)  THE  DEPARTMENT  SHALL ESTABLISH A COMMUNITY-BASED ADVANCE
 CARE PLANNING OUTREACH GRANT PROGRAM TO FUND  NOT-FOR-PROFIT  COMMUNITY-
 BASED ORGANIZATIONS, FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMIT-
 ED TO IMMIGRANT-SERVING ORGANIZATIONS, AND OTHER TRUSTED COMMUNITY PART-
 NERS   TO   CONDUCT  ADVANCE  CARE  PLANNING  EDUCATION,  OUTREACH,  AND
 NAVIGATION.
   (II) THE DEPARTMENT SHALL ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH AN  ADMINISTRA-
 TOR  TO  ADMINISTER  THE  GRANTS AND PROVIDE OVERSIGHT OF THE COMMUNITY-
 BASED ADVANCED CARE PLANNING OUTREACH GRANT PROGRAM.
   (III) "ADMINISTRATOR" SHALL MEAN A STATEWIDE MEMBERSHIP NOT-FOR-PROFIT
 ORGANIZATION WHOSE PRIMARY MISSION IS TO PROMOTE ACCESS TO  QUALITY  END
 OF LIFE CARE AND THAT IS CONTRACTED BY THE DEPARTMENT.
   (IV) GRANT FUNDS MAY BE USED FOR MULTILINGUAL AND CULTURALLY APPROPRI-
 ATE  EDUCATIONAL  MATERIALS;  ADVANCE  CARE PLANNING NAVIGATOR PROGRAMS;
 HOME-BASED  COUNSELING  AND  EDUCATION;  COMMUNITY  WORKSHOPS,  OUTREACH
 EVENTS,  AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES; AND PARTNERSHIPS WITH HOSPICE
 PROGRAMS, PALLIATIVE CARE PROVIDERS AND HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS.
   (V) GRANTEES SHALL REPORT TO THE ADMINISTRATOR AND THE  DEPARTMENT  ON
 MEASURABLE OUTCOMES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE NUMBER OF INDIVID-
 UALS  REACHED,  ADVANCE  CARE  PLANNING  CONVERSATIONS  FACILITATED, AND
 ADVANCE DIRECTIVES OR RELATED DOCUMENTS COMPLETED OR SUPPORTED.
   (VI) THE DEPARTMENT SHALL SUBMIT AN ANNUAL PUBLIC REPORT TO THE GOVER-
 NOR  AND  THE  LEGISLATURE  EVALUATING  CAMPAIGN  REACH,  GRANT  PROGRAM
 OUTCOMES,  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS  TO  IMPROVE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO ADVANCE
 CARE PLANNING.
   § 4. The sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000), or so much  thereof
 as  may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the department of health
 out of any moneys in the state treasury in the general fund to the cred-
 it of the community based advance-care planning outreach grant  program,
 not  otherwise  appropriated,  and  made  immediately available, for the
 purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act. Such moneys shall be
 payable on the audit and warrant of the comptroller on  vouchers  certi-
 fied  or approved by the commissioner of health in the manner prescribed
 by law.
   § 5. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
 sion, section or part of this act shall be  adjudged  by  any  court  of
 competent  jurisdiction  to  be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall  be  confined  in
 its  operation  to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
 the legislature that this act would  have  been  enacted  even  if  such
 invalid provisions had not been included herein.
   § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.