NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A526
SPONSOR: Cahill TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the limited liability company law, the business corpo-
ration law, the partnership law, the public health law and the education
law, in relation to authorizing optometrists and ophthalmic dispensing
practices to form limited liability companies
PURPOSE:
To authorize persons licensed to practice medicine, optometry and/or
ophthalmic dispensing to jointly establish practices that provide a
broader range of professional medical services.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
This legislation would amend § 1203(a)and § 1207(b) and 5 1301(a) of the
Limited Liability Law, 1503(a) of the Business Corporation Law, g
121-1500(q) and 5 121-1502(q)of the Partnership Law and 5 2801(1) of the
Public Health Law to allow optometrists and/or ophthalmic dispensers
licensed under Title VIII, Article 143 and/or Article 144 of the Educa-
tion Law to form businesses with physicians. It also amends section 6530
of the Education Law to make clear that such business entities would not
be prohibited from Pooling fees.
EXISTING LAW:
Current law provides that one or more individuals who render the same
professional service may organize a professional service corporation.
In addition, while the law generally permits members of different
professions to form a single professional limited liability company or
partnership, the statute currently prohibits certain professionals,
including physicians, from forming limited liability entities with
licensed professionals from other disciplines.
JUSTIFICATION:
The purpose of this bill is to authorize these separately licensed
professionals - ophthalmologists, optometrists, and ophthalmic dispen-
sers - to join together to own and operate a single professional prac-
tice where patients can seek treatment and care. A number• of multi-dis-
ciplinary practices have already been established throughout the State
that permit "one-stop" shopping for eye care services. Practitioners who
have entered into these practices believe patients may benefit from
being able to access the full array of eye care services at a single
location, where an ophthalmologist, an optometrist and an ophthalmic
dispenser (or optician) practice collaboratively. Although these practi-
tioners are currently permitted to practice together, current law
precludes physicians (including ophthalmologists) from entering into
practices that would be jointly owned with other professionals, such as
optometrists and opticians.
The current law is unreasonably restrictive and serves no legitimate
public purpose. There is no evidence that jointly owned practices are
any less committed to the best interests of their patients than single
profession-owned practices or existing multi-disciplinary practices. In
the absence of any legitimate public health or patient protection
concern, the decision whether health care professionals should jointly
own a practice is properly a decision for the relevant professionals.
This bill would not require professionals to form multi-disciplinary
professional corporations or limited liability companies or partner-
ships, and many professionals from each of these licensing categories
may prefer to maintain separate practices. This bill would merely remove
an artificial impediment to joint ownership and permit those who would
choose to provide their professional services in a collaboratively owned
and operated practice to do so, consistent with a growing majority of
other states.
This bill would make New York law consistent with the practice in at
least twenty-six other states, including New Jersey, Ohio, Massachu-
setts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New Hampshire, which allow optome-
trists to form professional corporations with other health care profes-
sionals. As the trend to authorize such multi-disciplinary professional
corporations among health care professionals increases particularly in
the northeast United States - it is vital that New York continue its
national leadership in providing these professionals with the option to
form practices that may be best suited to meeting the needs of their
patients.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2019-2020: A.240 - Referred to Higher Education
2017-2018: A.7474 - Referred to Higher Education
2015-2016: A.991 - Referred to Education
2013-2014: A.1384-A - Referred to Higher Education
2011-2012: A.58-A - Referred to Higher Education 2008: A.7269
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have
become a law.
