On June 23, the New York State Assembly wrapped up its 2009 legislative session; however, the Senate  remains in disarray, as neither the Republicans nor Democrats have been able to convene a quorum to vote on bills.  As a result, Governor Paterson called the Senators back on June 24 for an “extraordinary session” to vote on more than 50 Governor’s Program bills. These bills, many of which are extenders of critical state and local programs, require passage before June 30. 
     
Before the Assembly adjourned, two medical malpractice bills that GNYHA strongly opposes were on the fast track to pass.  A.4627-A, introduced by Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein (D-Brooklyn) would extend New York’s 2.5 year statute of limitations from the date of injury or alleged malpractice to 2.5 years from the date of future “discovery,” regardless of how far into the future the “discovery” takes place.  The bill has been reported to the Rules Committee.  The other bill, A.8964/S.3203-A, sponsored by Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D-Queens) and Senator Jeff Klein (D-Bronx), seeks to overturn the Arons v. Jutkowitz decision by the New York State Court of Appeals (the State’s highest court). The Court decision states that a defendant (e.g., hospital) can speak to a later-treating physician to determine the extent of the plaintiff’s injuries, etc., without the plaintiff’s lawyer being present.  This bill is currently on 3rd reading on the Rules Calendar; one step from being voted on by the entire Assembly.  The bills would increase hospitals medical malpractice premiums by as much as 15% and 5%, respectively.  GNYHA will continue to lobby the bills’ sponsors and Assembly leadership to prevent their passage. Other important health related bills that passed the Assembly are listed below.
     
GNYHA supports the following bills.

Managed Care Reform A.8402-A/S.5472-A (Governor’s Program Bill # 13), introduced by Assemblyman Joseph Morelle (D -Rochester) and Senator Neil Breslin (D-Albany), assures that hospitals will be paid promptly for medically necessary services they provide by: 1) limiting denials for claims filed; 2) reducing the amount of time plans have to make determinations on authorization requests for post-acute home care services from 3 days to 1 day; 3) improving coordination of benefits protections; 4) reducing time frames for payment of claims submitted electronically from 45 days to 30; 5) affording providers the right to bring external appeals on concurrent review determinations; among other provisions.

Power for Jobs  A.8825-A/S.5979, introduced by Assemblyman Kevin Cahill (D-Kingston) and Senator Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn), extends the Power for Jobs Program and the Energy Cost Savings Benefit Program through May 15, 2010. GNYHA is pleased that the Assembly has passed this bill as the Power for Jobs program provides low-cost electricity to hospitals, among other big energy users and manufacturers.

Medical Malpractice A.9036/S.6026 (Governor’s Program Bill # 72), introduced by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried (D-Manhattan) and the Senate Rules Committee, would extend for one more year the freeze on medical malpractice premium rates for physicians and surgeons, and prevent a surcharge on premiums until June 30, 2010.

Witness to Healthcare Proxy  A.3787/S.1990, introduced by Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan) and Senator Kemp Hannon (R-Garden City), eliminates the requirement of two witnesses when an individual is designating a health care proxy and now requires the presence of only one witness.  If an individual is a resident of a facility licensed by the Office of Mental Health (OMH) or the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD), two witnesses are still required for the appointment of a health care proxy.

Public Reporting of Executive Compensation A.4803-A, introduced by Assemblyman Peter Rivera (D-Bronx), exempts Article 28 hospitals from publicly reporting and placing on the Office of Mental Health, the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities and the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services Web sites the names of governing board members and a summary of executive compensation information reported by all service providers that receive funds through these agencies.

Standards and Guidelines for Prenatal Care A.8397-A, introduced by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried (D-Manhattan) updates the standards and guidelines for prenatal care and income eligibility standards for coverage of prenatal care to be provided. It also requires that a provider notify the social service district within five business days of a patient’s presumptive eligibility for the programs. GNYHA supports this bill but recommended that the 5-day presumptive eligibility verification by hospitals be extended.
     
GNYHA opposes the following bills:

Public Reporting of Nurse Staffing Ratios and Adverse Events A.1752-A/S.3527, introduced by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried and Senator Thomas Duane (D-Manhattan), requires hospitals to publicly report nurse staffing ratios and adverse events and complaint investigations.

Provision of Language Assistance Services in Hospitals A.5225-A/S.5407-A, introduced by Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat (D-Manhattan) and Senator Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens), places burdensome and/or duplicative mandates on hospitals to provide language assistance to patients who cannot speak English proficiently as well as visual and hearing impaired patients.

Provision of Audio Recording of Discharge Plan for Visually Impaired Individuals  A.6671-B/S.5463-B, introduced by Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal and Senator David Valesky (D-Syracuse), requires hospitals to provide visually impaired patients with an audio recording in compact disc or other format preferable to the patient.