S09621 Summary:
| BILL NO | S09621 |
| SAME AS | SAME AS A10316 |
| SPONSOR | SCARCELLA-SPANTON |
| COSPNSR | |
| MLTSPNSR | |
| Amd §2997-d, Pub Health L | |
| Amends policies and procedures to improve access to palliative care and hospice services; directs implementation of hospice-palliative care health system demonstration projects. | |
S09621 Text:
Go to topSTATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9621 IN SENATE March 30, 2026 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SCARCELLA-SPANTON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to strengthening access to palliative care and hospice services The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 2997-d of the public health law, as added by 2 section 48 of part H of chapter 59 of the laws of 2011, is amended to 3 read as follows: 4 § 2997-d. Hospital, nursing home, home care, special needs assisted 5 living residences and enhanced assisted living residences palliative 6 care support. 1. (a) "Palliative care" means health care treatment, 7 including interdisciplinary end-of-life care, and consultation with 8 patients and family members, to prevent or relieve pain and suffering 9 and to enhance the patient's quality of life, including hospice care 10 under article forty of this chapter. 11 (b) "Appropriate" has the same meaning as paragraph (a) of subdivision 12 one of section twenty-nine hundred ninety-seven-c of this title. 13 (c) "Community-based palliative care" means palliative care services 14 delivered in a patient's residence or other community setting, including 15 symptom management, psychosocial support, advance care planning, care 16 coordination, and referral to hospice services, as appropriate. 17 (d) "Hospice" means a program licensed under article forty of this 18 chapter. 19 (e) "Administrator" shall mean a statewide membership based not-for- 20 profit organization whose primary mission is to promote access to quali- 21 ty end of life care for all New Yorkers. 22 2. General hospitals, nursing homes, organizations licensed or certi- 23 fied pursuant to article thirty-six of this chapter, and organizations 24 licensed as special needs assisted living residences or enhanced 25 assisted living residences pursuant to article forty-six-B of this chap- 26 ter shall establish and implement written policies and procedures to 27 [provide] ensure that patients with advanced life limiting conditions 28 [and] or illnesses who might benefit from palliative care, including EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD14732-03-6S. 9621 2 1 associated pain management, [services] are identified and provided with 2 timely access to information [and], counseling [regarding such options3appropriate to the patient], and such services, including community- 4 based palliative care. Policies must include provision for patients who 5 lack capacity to make medical decisions, so that access to such informa- 6 tion and counseling shall be provided to the persons who are legally 7 authorized to make medical decisions on behalf of such patients. 8 3. General hospitals, nursing homes, organizations licensed or certi- 9 fied pursuant to article thirty-six of this chapter, and organizations 10 licensed as special needs assisted living residences or enhanced 11 assisted living residences pursuant to article forty-six-B of this chap- 12 ter shall facilitate access to appropriate palliative care consultations 13 and services, including associated pain management consultations and 14 services, [including but not limited to] and ensure referrals are made 15 consistent with patient needs and preferences. [The department shall16take into account access and proximity of palliative care services,17including the availability of hospice and palliative care board certi-18fied practitioners and other related workforce staff, geographic19factors, and facility size that may impact development of palliative20care services.] Facilities subject to this subdivision shall ensure that 21 eligible patients are informed of the availability of hospice services 22 and other community-based palliative care services, and afforded the 23 opportunity to receive a timely referral to such services. 24 4. (a) The department shall monitor and report to each hospital the 25 hospice utilization for patients that died within thirty, sixty, and 26 ninety days post discharge from their respective institutions to deter- 27 mine access to hospice services prior to death. 28 (b) Such data may be used to inform policy and future value based 29 arrangements to improve hospice utilization. 30 5. (a) The department shall administer directly and/or enter into an 31 agreement with the administrator to administer a hospice-palliative care 32 integration demonstration program to support improved coordination 33 between hospitals, health systems, and hospice providers. 34 (b) Subject to appropriation, such program shall be funded at five 35 million dollars annually. 36 (c) Grants may be awarded on a competitive basis to hospitals or 37 health systems, in partnership with one or more hospice providers, to 38 implement projects designed to improve transitions of care, advance 39 timely hospice referral, and enhance coordination of serious illness 40 care. 41 (d) Demonstration projects may include, but need not be limited to, 42 development of standardized referral pathways, integration of hospice 43 expertise into discharge planning, staff education, interdisciplinary 44 training, and quality improvement initiatives related to hospice access. 45 (e) Each participating entity shall implement policies and procedures, 46 consistent with standards established by the department to identify 47 patients who may benefit from palliative care services. 48 (f) Such policies shall include, but not be limited to, evidence based 49 clinical triggers, including but not limited to advanced cancer, 50 progressive organ failure, advanced dementia, and prolonged intensive 51 care stays. 52 (g) Hospitals shall document in the medical record whether i. a 53 patient met one or more identification criteria, ii. palliative care or 54 hospice services were provided, iii. a referral was offered, and iv. the 55 referral was accepted or declined.S. 9621 3 1 (h) The department shall establish performance measures appropriate to 2 the goals of the demonstration program and may include performance-based 3 components based on measurable improvement over baseline. 4 6. Facilities subject to this section shall submit data to the depart- 5 ment, in a form and manner prescribed by the commissioner, regarding 6 palliative care and hospice identification and referral practices. The 7 department shall publicly report facility-level or system-level data, 8 provided such reporting complies with applicable privacy laws. 9 7. The commissioner shall promulgate regulations necessary to imple- 10 ment this section, including but not limited to minimum identification 11 standards, documentation requirements, reporting specifications, and 12 enforcement procedures. 13 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundredth day after it 14 shall have become a law.