New York State Assembly

 
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A02898 Summary:

A02898 Actions:

A02898 Committee Votes:

Committee:INSURANCE   Chair:Weprin      
DATE:05/24/2023AYE/NAY:22/0  Action: Favorable refer to committee Rules        
Weprin
Aye
Blankenbush
Aye
Cook
Aye
Hawley
Absent
Pretlow
Aye
Palmesano
Aye
Lavine
Aye
Gandolfo
Aye
Steck
Aye
Curran
Aye
Dilan
Aye
Jensen
Aye
Hunter
Aye
Blumencranz
Aye
Rosenthal
Aye
Bendett
Aye
Stern
Aye
Jacobson
Aye
Meeks
Absent
Forrest
Aye
Anderson
Aye
Cruz
Aye
Bores
Aye
Lunsford
Aye

Committee:RULES   Chair:Pretlow      
DATE:06/01/2023AYE/NAY:30/0  Action: Favorable         
Heastie
Excused
Barclay
Aye
Weinstein
Aye
Hawley
Aye
Pretlow
Aye
Giglio
Aye
Cook
Aye
Blankenbush
Aye
Glick
Aye
Norris
Aye
Aubry
Aye
Ra
Aye
Dinowitz
Aye
Brabenec
Aye
Colton
Aye
Palmesano
Aye
Magnarelli
Aye
Reilly
Aye
Paulin
Aye
Peoples-Stokes
Aye
Benedetto
Aye
Lavine
Aye
Lupardo
Aye
Zebrowski
Aye
Thiele
Aye
Braunstein
Aye
Dickens
Aye
Davila
Aye
Hyndman
Aye
Rozic
Aye
Bronson
Aye

A02898 Floor Votes:

A02898 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         2898--A
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    February 1, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by M. of A. CARROLL, EPSTEIN, SHIMSKY, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, McDO-
          NALD, DINOWITZ, GALLAGHER, SEAWRIGHT, JEAN-PIERRE, THIELE, CUNNINGHAM,
          WOERNER, K. BROWN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Insur-
          ance -- committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered  reprinted  as
          amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  insurance law, in relation to requiring certain
          insurance policies to cover neuropsychological exams for dyslexia
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  This act shall be known and may be cited as the "dyslexia
     2  diagnosis access act".
     3    § 2. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature hereby finds and
     4  declares the following:
     5    a. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is  neurobiological
     6  in  origin.  It  is  characterized  by difficulties with accurate and/or
     7  fluent word recognition and impaired spelling  and  decoding  abilities.
     8  These  difficulties  typically result from a deficit in the phonological
     9  component of language within the brain that is often discordant with the
    10  person's intelligence and other cognitive abilities. Secondary   effects
    11  of  undetected  and  unaddressed dyslexia include   anxiety, depression,
    12  worsened health, decreased life  expectancy,  lower    education  rates,
    13  lower employment and income rates, and increased  poverty and incarcera-
    14  tion rates.
    15    b.  Studies  indicate  that  as  many as one in five children may have
    16  dyslexia or another phonemic awareness issue. However, lack of access to
    17  appropriate screening and diagnostic testing poses a barrier to  compre-
    18  hensively  tracking  the incidence of dyslexia and students are unlikely
    19  to receive the intervention required  to  overcome  dyslexia  without  a
    20  positive  diagnosis.  Comprehensive  neuropsychological exams are recog-
    21  nized as the most effective way to positively diagnose dyslexia.    Such
    22  exams  are  often administered over the course of two days and currently

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01994-02-3
        A. 2898--A                          2
 
     1  may cost in excess of six thousand dollars but are  typically  not  paid
     2  for by health insurance, making them unaffordable to many families.
     3    § 3. Subsection (i) of section 3216 of the insurance law is amended by
     4  adding a new paragraph 39 to read as follows:
     5    (39)  (A)  Every policy that provides coverage for physician services,
     6  medical, major medical  or  similar  comprehensive-type  coverage  shall
     7  provide  coverage  for testing for suspected dyslexia in accordance with
     8  this paragraph and shall not exclude coverage for the screening, diagno-
     9  sis or treatment of medical conditions otherwise covered by the policy.
    10    (B) Coverage shall include comprehensive  neuropsychological  examina-
    11  tions  for  the  purposes  of  diagnosing  dyslexia  and determining the
    12  psychological, emotional, and educational wellness needs of the individ-
    13  ual tested.
    14    § 4. Section 3221 of the insurance law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    15  subsection (u) to read as follows:
    16    (u)  (1)  Every  policy that provides coverage for physician services,
    17  medical, major medical  or  similar  comprehensive-type  coverage  shall
    18  provide  coverage  for testing for suspected dyslexia in accordance with
    19  this subsection and shall not exclude coverage for the screening,  diag-
    20  nosis  or treatment of medical conditions otherwise covered by the poli-
    21  cy.
    22    (2) Coverage shall include comprehensive  neuropsychological  examina-
    23  tions  for  the  purposes  of  diagnosing  dyslexia  and determining the
    24  psychological, emotional, and educational wellness needs of the individ-
    25  ual tested.
    26    § 5. Section 4303 of the insurance law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    27  subsection (vv) to read as follows:
    28    (vv)  (1)  Every policy that provides coverage for physician services,
    29  medical, major medical  or  similar  comprehensive-type  coverage  shall
    30  provide  coverage  for testing for suspected dyslexia in accordance with
    31  this subsection and shall not exclude coverage for the screening,  diag-
    32  nosis  or treatment of medical conditions otherwise covered by the poli-
    33  cy.
    34    (2) Coverage shall include comprehensive  neuropsychological  examina-
    35  tions  for  the  purposes  of  diagnosing  dyslexia  and determining the
    36  psychological, emotional, and educational wellness needs of the individ-
    37  ual tested.
    38    § 6. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
    39  ing  the date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply to all
    40  policies and contracts issued, renewed, modified, altered, or amended on
    41  or after such  date.  Effective  immediately,  the  addition,  amendment
    42  and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation
    43  of  this  act  on  its  effective  date  are  authorized  to be made and
    44  completed on or before such effective date.