STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4636--A
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 14, 2011
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Introduced by Sen. GRISANTI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Insurance -- recommitted
to the Committee on Insurance in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8
-- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to establishing a demon-
stration program to prevent influenza; and providing for the repeal of
such provisions upon expiration thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section 1123-a
2 to read as follows:
3 § 1123-a. Health insurance demonstration program to prevent influenza.
4 (a) Purpose of the demonstration program. The legislature recognizes
5 that hundreds of thousands of New York citizens get the flu every year.
6 Most call out of work for days to nurse the illness, while many others,
7 lacking proper immunization, succumb to the flu every year, including
8 the elderly, chronically ill and children. The flu is one of the most
9 preventable diseases in both severity and overall illness through vacci-
10 nation. The demonstration program is intended to test mechanisms to
11 assist insurers expand beyond predetermined settings and providers
12 currently eligible as participating providers by insurers providing
13 influenza vaccination for influenza.
14 (b) Definitions. As used in this section:
15 (1) "Eligible health care provider" means a person, clinic, agency or
16 pharmacy that is licensed or certified pursuant to the public health law
17 or education law and who is licensed to prescribe and administer
18 vaccines in accordance with standards and requirements set forth in the
19 education law or any other applicable law or rule.
20 (2) "Eligible insurer" means any insurer providing health insurance
21 coverage pursuant to article forty-three or thirty-two of this chapter
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10841-03-2
S. 4636--A 2
1 and is located in an eight, twelve or five county region of the work-
2 force retraining program as defined pursuant to section twenty-eight
3 hundred seven-g of the public health law.
4 (3) "Region" means an eight, twelve or five county region as defined
5 for the workforce retraining program pursuant to section twenty-eight
6 hundred seven-g of the public health law.
7 (c) Demonstration program to prevent influenza. (1) Both insurers and
8 health care providers shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter
9 and any regulations promulgated thereunder.
10 (2) Subject to paragraph three of this subsection, the superintendent
11 may issue an approval to an eligible health care provider providing
12 vaccinations if:
13 (A) the eligible health care provider demonstrates that it satisfies
14 all financial, operational and other requirements of this chapter and
15 regulations promulgated thereunder, other than any requirements express-
16 ly waived by this section, and shall operate the demonstration program
17 in accordance with the requirements of this section;
18 (B) the superintendent determines that the demonstration program
19 furthers the public policy goals of this section;
20 (C) the health care provider intends to administer influenza vaccine
21 in the region;
22 (D) the number of eligible health care providers does not exceed fifty
23 in the region unless the eligible insurer in such region consents to
24 such additional eligible health care providers.
25 (3) Any eligible health care provider seeking the superintendent's
26 approval under paragraph two of this subsection shall submit a written
27 request to the superintendent within thirty days of the effective date
28 of this section. The superintendent shall make a determination on any
29 request within ninety days of receipt of all necessary information.
30 (4) The superintendent may revoke an approval issued under paragraph
31 two of this subsection if: the health care provider that received such
32 approval no longer qualifies as an eligible health care provider or is
33 otherwise operating in a manner inconsistent with the provisions of this
34 chapter or regulations promulgated thereunder. Eligible insurers shall
35 submit periodic reports to the superintendent sufficient to enable the
36 superintendent to evaluate the effectiveness of the demonstration
37 program. Such reports shall identify whether trivalent inactivated
38 vaccine or live attenuated influenza vaccine was utilized. In addition
39 such report shall include whether such vaccine was administered outside
40 a physician's office, barriers to making the influenza vaccination more
41 available and any strategies for removing such barriers.
42 § 2. This act shall take effect January 1, 2013 and shall expire Janu-
43 ary 1, 2016 when upon such date the provisions of this act shall be
44 deemed repealed.
