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A08641 Summary:

BILL NOA08641
 
SAME ASSAME AS S08007
 
SPONSORGlick
 
COSPNSR
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Ren 3517 to be 3518, add 3517, Pub Health L
 
Specifies the settings in which an ultrasound or similar medical imaging device procedure may be offered; provides penalties for violations.
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A08641 Actions:

BILL NOA08641
 
05/22/2025referred to health
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A08641 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A8641
 
SPONSOR: Glick
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public health law, in relation to specifying the settings in which an ultrasound or similar medical imaging device proce- dure may be offered   PURPOSE: To afford patient protections by helping to ensure that ultrasound imag- ing is performed safely and that patients are provided accurate medical information and quality, timely care.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1: Adds a new section 3517 to the Public Health Law entitled "Performance of ultrasounds." Stipulates settings where an ultrasound, or a similar medical imaging device or procedure may be offered, as well as exempted entities and providers. Establishes a civil penalty for first and subsequent offenses. Stipulates that the Attorney General or a county District Attorney may bring an action to impose a civil penalty pursuant to this section and that civil penalties collected shall be paid to the office of the Attorney General or to the treasurer of the county for the District Attorney, based on the office that brought the action. Section 2: Establishes the effective date. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law.   JUSTIFICATION: Ultrasound imaging is used to evaluate, diagnose, and treat a variety of medical conditions by producing a real-time visual image of internal organs, tissue, or blood flow. Uses of this medical tool include abdomi- nal ultrasound, bone sonometry, breast ultrasound, doppler fetal heart rate monitors, doppler ultrasound, echocardiogram, fetal ultrasound, ultrasound-guided biopsies, ophthalmic ultrasound, and ultrasound-guided needle placement.' This medical technology does not carry the same risks as other types of imaging that utilize ionizing radiation, such as X-rays or CT scans, and 'has a very good safety record. However, ultrasound energy can cause heating of the tissues or create cavitation, the long-term effects of which are unknown.2 According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), there is currently no evidence that ultrasound imaging causes harm to the fetus, but that does not rule out the possibility of harmful effects being identified at some point. Therefore, ACOG recommends that ultrasound imaging be conducted for medical reasons by qualified health care practitioners.3 The Association for Medical Ultrasound asserts that ultrasound imaging should be performed by qualified health professionals for the medical benefit of the patient.4 Although ultrasound imaging is a medical tool that is intended for eval- uation, diagnosis, and treatment of patients, ultrasounds are offered in non-medical settings, including certain limited service pregnancy centers, also known as crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs). CPCs are facil- ities that portray themselves as reproductive health care clinics, when they actually endeavor to hinder abortion and even use of contraception. These facilities may say they offer free pregnancy tests, STI testing, ultrasounds, and pregnancy counseling, but they are not licensed health care facilities. As such, CPC staff are not required by law or regu- lation to provide accurate information to pregnant people and they are not subject to HIPAA regulations. CPC staff have provided false informa- tion about the gestational age of a person's pregnancy after doing an ultrasound in order to mislead the pregnant person into thinking it is too late to have an abortion. Staff have also provided inaccurate infor- mation about abortion, including the risks, as well as "abortion pill reversal." 5 Crisis pregnancy centers have a strong presence throughout the U.S., including in New York, and many offer ultrasounds. According to the Reproaction database, there are 91 CPCs in the State of New York.6 A study of 1,825 CPC websites in the U.S. found that 77% of CPCs adver- tised they provide ultrasounds.7 CPCs frequently locate themselves in close vicinity to legitimate reproductive health care clinics that provide comprehensive medical services, including abortion care, and they endeavor to present themselves as medical clinics - pregnant people who go to a CPC because they want to talk about their pregnancy options with a health care provider may believe the facility is a licensed reproductive health care clinic and later realize that the facility does not support or provide abortion care. A mystery client study of 86 CPCs in New York State found that during calls, only twelve CPCs automat- ically disclosed their non-medical status and thirty-six disclosed this critical detail after direct questioning.8 It is essential that ultrasound imaging be utilized in accordance with the guidance of professional health care associations and that pregnant people who have a prenatal ultrasound be given medically-accurate infor- mation about their pregnancy, including but not limited to the gestation, so that they can make unimpeded decisions about whether to keep or terminate the pregnancy in accordance with New York State law. This legislation will help to afford patient protections by specifying licensed health care settings in which ultrasound imaging or similar medical imaging device procedure may be offered.   LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New bill   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: To be determined   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law. 1 Ultrasound Imaging, U.S. Food & Drug Administration: https://www.fda.gov/radiation-emitting-products/medical-imaging/ ultra- sound-imaging 2 Ibid. 3 Ultrasound Exams, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecolo- gists: https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/ultrasound-exams 4 Prudent Clinical Use and Safety of Diagnostic Ultrasound, The Associ- ation for Medical Ultrasound: https://www.aium.org/resources/official- statements/view/prudent-clinical -use-and-safety-of-diagnostic- ultrasound 5 Ultrasound Exams, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecolo- gists: https://www,acog.org/womenshealth/faqs/ultrasound-exams 6 Reproaction Education Fund: The Anti-Abortion Pregnancy Center Data- base, accessed May 1, 2025 from https://reproaction.org/database 7 Desai, K. S., et al. (2024). Characterizing Services Advertised on Crisis Pregnancy Center Websites. JAMA Internal Medicine. doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed 2024.6440 8 Frasik, C, Jordan, C, McLeod, C, and Flink-Bochacki, R. A mystery client study of crisis pregnancy center practices in New York State. Contraception, January 2023: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010782422002244
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A08641 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          8641
 
                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                      May 22, 2025
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by M. of A. GLICK -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Health
 
        AN ACT to amend the public health law, in  relation  to  specifying  the
          settings  in  which  an  ultrasound  or similar medical imaging device
          procedure may be offered
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Section 3517 of the public health law is renumbered section
     2  3518 and a new section 3517 is added to read as follows:
     3    §  3517.  Performance of ultrasounds.   1. An ultrasound, or a similar
     4  medical imaging device or procedure used for a medical,  counseling,  or
     5  diagnostic  service  or  purpose, shall only be offered in the following
     6  settings:
     7    (a) An organized and licensed clinic  that  provides  direct  medical,
     8  surgical,  dental,  optometric, or podiatric advice, services, or treat-
     9  ment to patients who remain less than twenty-four hours,  and  that  may
    10  also  provide diagnostic or therapeutic services to patients in the home
    11  as an incident to care provided at the clinic facility.
    12    (b) An outpatient setting comprised of  any  facility,  clinic,  unli-
    13  censed  clinic,  center,  office, or other setting that is not part of a
    14  general acute care facility and where  anesthesia,  except  local  anes-
    15  thesia  or  peripheral nerve blocks, or both, is used in compliance with
    16  the community standard of practice, in  doses  that,  when  administered
    17  have  the  probability  of  placing  a  patient  at risk for loss of the
    18  patient's life-preserving protective reflexes.
    19    (c) A licensed health facility  that  is  organized,  maintained,  and
    20  operated  for  the  diagnosis,  care, prevention, and treatment of human
    21  illness, physical, or mental, including convalescence and rehabilitation
    22  and including care during and after pregnancy, or for any one or more of
    23  these purposes, for one or more persons, to which the persons are admit-
    24  ted for a twenty-four-hour stay or longer, including a  hospital,  acute
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13014-01-5

        A. 8641                             2
 
     1  psychiatric hospital, skilled nursing facility, nursing home, intermedi-
     2  ate  care  facility, congregate living health facility, hospice facility
     3  and a correctional  treatment  center  operated  by  the  department  of
     4  corrections  and  community  supervision  or a county, city, or city and
     5  county law enforcement agency.
     6    (d) A practice of a licensed physician or  surgeon,  a  medical  group
     7  practice,  including  a professional medical corporation organized under
     8  and governed by article forty-four of  this  chapter,  another  form  of
     9  corporation  controlled  by  physicians and surgeons, a medical partner-
    10  ship, a medical foundation exempt from licensure,  or  another  lawfully
    11  organized  group  of  physicians  and surgeons that provides health care
    12  services.
    13    (e) A practice of a licensed chiropractor, as defined in  article  one
    14  hundred  thirty-two  of the education law, or a lawfully organized group
    15  of licensed chiropractors that provides health care services.
    16    (f) A practice of a licensed physical therapist, as defined in article
    17  one hundred thirty-six of the education law,  or  a  lawfully  organized
    18  group   of  licensed  physical  therapists  that  provides  health  care
    19  services.
    20    (g) A facility affiliated with the settings  described  in  paragraphs
    21  (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) or (f) of this subdivision.
    22    (h)  An  exempt  entity  as  described  in section thirty-five hundred
    23  fifteen of this title.
    24    2. This section does not apply to a practice  of  a  licensed  midwife
    25  providing  care  pursuant  to article one hundred forty of the education
    26  law.
    27    3. (a) Any person or entity that fails to comply with the requirements
    28  of this section is liable for a  civil  penalty  of  two  thousand  five
    29  hundred  dollars  ($2,500) for a first offense and five thousand dollars
    30  ($5,000) for each subsequent offense, in addition to costs and fees.
    31    (b) An action to impose a civil penalty pursuant to this  section  may
    32  be  brought  by  the attorney general or a county district attorney. For
    33  purposes of this subdivision, an offense is each ultrasound conducted in
    34  violation of this section.
    35    (c) Costs, fees,  and  civil  penalties  collected  pursuant  to  this
    36  section  shall be paid to the office that brought the action as follows:
    37  (i) to the office of the attorney general; or (ii) to the  treasurer  of
    38  the county for the district attorney.
    39    §  2.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
    40  have become a law.
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