NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5297
SPONSOR: Paulin TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law and the education law, in relation
to prohibited hospital interference with patient care
PURPOSE:
To prohibit hospitals from preventing health care practitioners from
providing medically accurate information and care related pregnancy
complications
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one amends the public health law to create a new section 2831
that states a hospital shall not (a) limit a health care practitioner's
provision of medically accurate and comprehensive information and
resources to a patient regarding the patient's health status or (b)
prohibit a practitioner from providing health care services related to
complication of pregnancy. This section also prohibits a hospital from
limiting a health care provider's practice to protect patients' physical
safety and provides that a healthcare entity shall not discharge,
demote, suspend, discipline, discriminate or otherwise retaliate against
a healthcare practitioner for engaging in communications or providing
services consistent with this section.
Section two amends the education law to require the department, assisted
by the board for each profession, to ensure each licensee, registrant,
or recipient of a limited permit receive the information prepared by the
department of health under PHL section 2831.
Section three state if any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part
of this act be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be
invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the
remainder hereof but shall be applied in its operation to the clause,
sentence, paragraph, section or part hereof directly involved in the
controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.
Section four provides the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
This legislation would prohibit hospitals from preventing health care
practitioners from providing medically accurate information and care
related to complications of pregnancy to patients in line with the prac-
titioner's own professional judgment. Some hospitals choose to limit the
provision of medically accurate information and care for reasons based
on the bureaucratic decision-making of non-medical personnel, rather
than for medical reasons or hospital capacity. For example, hospital
policies that prohibit the provision of abortion have resulted in the
delayed provision and denial of treatment for pregnancy complications
and miscarriages, which places pregnant people at risk.
In order to address these concerns, this legislation would prohibit
hospitals from preventing health care providers from communicating
medically accurate and comprehensive information about a patient's diag-
nosis, prognosis and treatment options, as well as information about
available services and where and how to obtain them. Consistent with the
federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act ("EMTALA"), it
would also prohibit hospitals from limiting the provision of services to
treat pregnancy complications and miscarriages, which the failure to
provide would violate the accepted standard of care or when the absence
of medical attention could reasonably be expected to pose a risk to the
patient's life or result in bodily harm.
Moreover, in order to ensure that the legislation is effective in
achieving its goals, it would require the Department of Health and the
State Education Department to publicly post information on the law and
provide this information periodically to licensed health care providers,
prohibit hospitals from retaliating against providers who deliver infor-
mation or render care consistent with the provisions of the law and
provide a private right of action for providers and patients to remedy
violations of the law.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately
