Amd §674, County L; amd §4141, Pub Health L; amd §§3203, 3209, 3220 & 4510, Ins L
Enacts the mental health assessment and record keeping for the coroner's office act; requires the coroner, coroner and coroner's physician, or the medical examiner, to conduct a mental health assessment when a death occurs in such person's jurisdiction; requires death certificates list an underlying mental illness as the cause of death when a person commits suicide; requires life insurance policies to pay upon a suicide which the coroner, coroner and coroner's physician, or the medical examiner indicated an underlying mental illness as the cause of death.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5624A
SPONSOR: Lucas TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the county law, the public health law and the insurance
law, in relation to enacting the mental health assessment and record
keeping for the coroner's office act
PURPOSE OF BILL:
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF BILL:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "mental
health assessment and record keeping for the coroner's office act.
§ 2. Subdivision 3 of section 674 of the county law is amended by adding
a new paragraph (c).
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
it shall have become law.
JUSTIFICATION:
In 2020, 542 people died of suicide in New York City, according to
provisional mortality data in a Health Department Report. Every 16
hours, someone dies from suicide in New York City. Based on Community
Health Survey data, 2.4% of NYC adults ages 18 and older seriously
thought about killing themselves in 2021. About 1,765 people in 2022
died of suicide. There were about 8.5 suicides for every 100,000 people
in New York. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explain that
suicide can be caused by a range of factors. The suicide rate in New
York has increased by 34.9% over the past 20 years.
Mental illnesses can be acute or chronic and are diagnosable conditions
that affect an individual's emotional, psychological, and social wellbe-
ing, and often their behavior. These conditions include depression,
anxiety, schizophrenia, and mood or personality disorders, among others.
The cause of death documented by the coroner's office on death certif-
icates should more accurately report the mental health condition as
cause of death rather than suicide.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
Bill A9027, 2023-24
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
Unknown.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become 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.
