NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7342A
SPONSOR: Gottfried TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the social services law, in relation
to vision care in school based health centers
PURPOSE OF THE BILL:
To enhance the availability of vision care services in a school-based
health center setting.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends section 364-j(4)(a)(iii) of the Social Services Law by
adding a new clause (E- 1) adding certain vision care services at a
school-based health center to the list of services which need not be
provided by a managed care program. Such services, subject to approval
by the Commissioner of Health (limited to up to five pilot programs),
would be in partnership with a charitable foundation that agrees to
provide free of charge eyeglass frames and lenses at the center pursuant
to a memorandum of agreement approved by the Commissioner. The Commis-
sioner is further authorized to approve payment rates for vision
services at rates comparable to when such services are provided at a
federally qualified health center (FQHC) or an entity licensed under
Article 28 of the Public Health Law eligible for an ambulatory patient
group (APG) rate.
Section 2 sets forth the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
The FY2013-14 adopted budget included support for an innovative program
designed to transform schools into community hubs. Community schools
will integrate social, health and other services, as well as after-
school programming to support students and their families. Each communi-
ty "hub" could potentially include a wide array of programs and
services, including health, vision care and dental clinics, youth devel-
opment activities, tutoring, counseling programs, health education
programs and social services, to name a few. Because every school commu-
nity is different, each "hub" design would be unique. This bill deals
exclusively with vision care services.
Successful precedent exists for a vision care program in a community
school setting. The acclaimed Oyler School vision program in Cincinnati
has proven sustainable and expandable. Implementation of this model in
New York is crucial. Eighty percent of what children learn is visual.
Yet one in four students in North America has an undetected vision prob-
lem. For too many children, poor vision results in poor academic
performance, low self-esteem and unrealized potential. Bridging this
vision care gap is critical to our children's success.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
In the first year there would be no cost to the State or political
subdivisions. All services and lenses and frames will be funded by a
private foundation with the approval of the Commissioner of Health and
subject to regulation and termination at the discretion of DOH. In
subsequent years Medicaid would fund the vision care services provided
by doctors, optometrists, and opticians under current NYS scope of prac-
tice law and rules and the lenses and frames would continue to be paid
for by the foundation. Therefore, there would be some increased Medicaid
cost of greater utilization of child vision care services but the State
would continue to save on Medicaid expenditures it now makes for lenses
and frames.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately, application to withholding of payment in effect on or
commencing after the effective date.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7342--A
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 13, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GOTTFRIED -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. CLARK
-- read once and referred to the Committee on Health -- reported and
referred to the Committee on Ways and Means -- committee discharged,
bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said
committee
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to vision care in
school based health centers
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 of
2 section 364-j of the social services law is amended by adding a new
3 clause (E-1) to read as follows:
4 (E-1) the services are vision care services rendered to a student at a
5 school based health center approved by the commissioner pursuant to this
6 clause. The commissioner may approve up to five pilot programs at school
7 based health centers in partnership with a charitable foundation that
8 agrees to provide free of charge eyeglass frames and lenses at the
9 centers pursuant to a memorandum of agreement approved by the commis-
10 sioner. The commissioner may approve the rate for such vision care
11 services at the rate for such services when provided by a federally
12 qualified health center or when provided by another entity licensed
13 pursuant to article twenty-eight of the public health law and eligible
14 for the ambulatory patient group rate approved for vision care services
15 by the commissioner; or
16 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
17 the amendments to section 364-j of the social services law made by
18 section one of this act shall not affect the repeal of such section and
19 shall expire and be deemed repealed therewith.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10611-02-3
