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S00410 Summary:

S00410 Actions:

S00410 Committee Votes:

S00410 Floor Votes:

S00410 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         410--A
 
                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                       (Prefiled)
 
                                     January 6, 2021
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sen.  BIAGGI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed  to  the  Committee  on  Health  --  committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee

        AN ACT to establish a Minority Coordinating Council on Asthmatic Affairs
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
     2  the "Lydia Soto law".
     3    §  2.  Legislative findings and intent. According to the American Lung
     4  Association, there are over 1.6 million New Yorkers  with  asthma,  with
     5  over  380,000 of them being children. The annual cost of asthma is esti-
     6  mated to be nearly 18 billion dollars. Access to health care for  ethnic
     7  minorities is often hampered by socio-economic disparities, shortages of
     8  primary  care  physicians in minority communities, language and literacy
     9  barriers, and cultural beliefs about the role and  usefulness  of  medi-
    10  cines.  There have emerged clear disparities in the burden and treatment
    11  of asthma in the communities of ethnic minorities. The burden of  asthma
    12  falls  disproportionately  on  the  African-American  and Hispanic popu-
    13  lations, and especially on children of these ethnic  minorities.  There-
    14  fore,  it  is  the  intent  of this legislature to create a coordinating
    15  council to address these issues and to improve awareness and  management
    16  of asthma prevention and treatment for minorities in this state.
    17    §  3. The commissioner of health shall establish a Minority Coordinat-
    18  ing Council on Asthmatic Affairs. Members of the council  shall  include
    19  the commissioners of health, environmental conservation, office of chil-
    20  dren  and  family  services,  and  the division of housing and community
    21  renewal or their designees. The council shall also  include,  as  deter-
    22  mined  by  the  commissioner  of health, representatives of minority and
    23  low-income communities, health care  professionals  with  knowledge  and
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02970-02-1
        S. 410--A                           2
 
     1  experience  in  the  prevention  and  treatment of asthma, and community
     2  groups that advocate for environmental justice issues. The council shall
     3  be tasked with:  (a) assessing the asthma risk factors for the  minority
     4  residents  of this state, broken down by county and regions; (b) identi-
     5  fying existing barriers to  quality  asthma  treatment  and  care  among
     6  racial and ethnic minorities; (c) developing evidence-based intervention
     7  strategies  for addressing the lack of health care in these communities;
     8  and (d) launching a state-wide  asthma  awareness  campaign  to  educate
     9  citizens  about  the  disease,  its  symptoms, and the ability to better
    10  manage asthma through prevention and treatment. The council shall deliv-
    11  er an annual report addressing various  asthma  program  successes,  new
    12  trends,  data and issues surrounding minority populations suffering from
    13  asthma to the governor and the legislature beginning September 1,  2025,
    14  and annually thereafter.
    15    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.