Requires hospitals to ask patients if they have a disability that requires accommodation under The Americans with Disabilities Act on patient intake forms and what reasonable accommodations are required.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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8666--A
IN SENATE
February 28, 2024
___________
Introduced by Sen. MANNION -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Health -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring hospi-
tals to ask patients if they have a disability that requires accommo-
dation under The Americans with Disabilities Act
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 2803-t of the public health law, as amended by
2 chapter 92 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 2803-t. Preadmission information. 1. Any hospital that provides
4 preadmission information to a patient, shall offer a blind or visually
5 impaired patient a large print version or, at the patient's or patient's
6 representative's request, an audio recording, to be made available to
7 such patient or such patient's representative on compact disc or other
8 medium as the hospital may offer, or as an electronically transmitted
9 digital file, in addition to a written copy of any preadmission informa-
10 tion.
11 2. Each hospital shall include a disability accommodations needs
12 assessment on their patient intake forms. The following statement and
13 questions related to a patient's disability accommodations needs assess-
14 ment shall read as follows:
15 "Please note, the following questions regarding your disability status
16 are voluntary and you are not required to answer the questions if you do
17 not wish to.
18 (a) Does the patient have a disability that requires accommodation
19 under The Americans with Disabilities Act?
20 (b) If so, what is the nature of the patient's disability?
21 (c) Is the patient requesting a reasonable accommodation?
22 (d) If so, what is the reasonable accommodation requested?
23 (e) Does the patient wish to discuss accommodations with their health-
24 care provider?"
25 3. Nothing contained herein shall require a patient to answer the
26 inquiries about a disability if they wish not to do so.
27 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
28 have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13332-03-4