A 1691: Expands health care services provided by telehealth to include services delivered through a facility licensed under article twenty-eight of the public health law that is eligible to be designated or has received a designation as a federally qualified health center, including those facilities that are also licensed under article thirty-one or article thirty-two of the mental hygiene law.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1691 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY January 14, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, SIMON, BLANKENBUSH, BURDICK, RIVERA, SIMONE, ROZIC, RAGA, BRONSON, SHIMSKY, STECK, SHRESTHA, MAMDANI, LEVENBERG, DAVILA, GRAY, GIBBS, EACHUS, GALLAHAN, MEEKS, REYES, KIM, LEMONDES, LUNSFORD, TAYLOR, LEE, BUTTENSCHON, ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to expanding health care services provided by telehealth; and to amend part V of chapter 57 of the laws of 2022, amending the public health law and the insur- ance law relating to reimbursement for commercial and Medicaid services provided via telehealth, in relation to the effectiveness thereof The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 2999-dd of the public health law, 2 as amended by section 2 of part V of chapter 57 of the laws of 2022, is 3 amended to read as follows: 4 1. Health care services delivered by means of telehealth shall be 5 entitled to reimbursement under section three hundred sixty-seven-u of 6 the social services law on the same basis, at the same rate, and to the 7 same extent the equivalent services, as may be defined in regulations 8 promulgated by the commissioner, are reimbursed when delivered in 9 person; provided, however, that health care services delivered by means 10 of telehealth shall not require reimbursement to a telehealth provider 11 for certain costs, including but not limited to facility fees or costs 12 reimbursed through ambulatory patient groups or other clinic reimburse- 13 ment methodologies set forth in section twenty-eight hundred seven of 14 this chapter, if such costs were not incurred in the provision of tele- 15 health services due to neither the originating site nor the distant site 16 occurring within a facility or other clinic setting; and further 17 provided, however, reimbursement for additional modalities, provider 18 categories and originating sites specified in accordance with section EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD03866-01-5 
 A. 1691 2 1 twenty-nine hundred ninety-nine-ee of this article, and audio-only tele- 2 phone communication defined in regulations promulgated pursuant to 3 subdivision four of section twenty-nine hundred ninety-nine-cc of this 4 article, shall be contingent upon federal financial participation. 5 Notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision, for services 6 licensed, certified or otherwise authorized pursuant to article sixteen, 7 article thirty-one or article thirty-two of the mental hygiene law, and 8 for any services delivered through a facility licensed under article 9 twenty-eight of this chapter that is eligible to be designated or has 10 received a designation as a federally qualified health center in accord- 11 ance with 42 USC § 1396a(aa), as amended, or any successor law thereto, 12 including those facilities that are also licensed under article thirty- 13 one or article thirty-two of the mental hygiene law, such services 14 provided by telehealth[, as deemed appropriate by the relevant commis- 15 sioner,] shall be reimbursed at the applicable in person rates or fees 16 established by law, or otherwise established or certified by the office 17 for people with developmental disabilities, office of mental health, or 18 the office of addiction services and supports pursuant to article 19 forty-three of the mental hygiene law. 20 § 2. Section 7 of part V of chapter 57 of the laws of 2022, amending 21 the public health law and the insurance law relating to reimbursement 22 for commercial and Medicaid services provided via telehealth, as amended 23 by section 5 of part B of chapter 57 of the laws of 2024, is amended to 24 read as follows: 25 § 7. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to 26 have been in full force and effect on and after April 1, 2022; provided, 27 however, this act shall expire and be deemed repealed on and after April 28 1, [2026] 2028. 29 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided however, that 30 the provisions of section one of this act shall take effect April 1, 31 2026; provided further, however, that the amendments to subdivision 1 of 32 section 2999-dd of the public health law made by section one of this act 33 shall not affect the expiration of such subdivision and shall expire and 34 be deemed repealed therewith.