A 6596: Requires Medicaid to cover gender-affirming care regardless of federal funding; prohibits discriminatory practices by health care entities including hospitals, certain professionals, and insurers; requires insurance coverage for services or treatments for gender dysphoria or gender incongruence.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6596 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY March 6, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring Medi- caid to cover gender-affirming care regardless of federal funding; and to amend the executive law, in relation to prohibiting discriminatory practices by health care entities The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 365-a of the social services law 2 is amended by adding a new paragraph (nn) to read as follows: 3 (nn) all medically necessary gender-affirming care regardless of 4 whether any federal funds are available for such coverage. 5 § 2. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 296-e to 6 read as follows: 7 § 296-e. Unlawful discriminatory practices in relation to health care. 8 1. For the purposes of this section, the term "health care entity" 9 means: 10 (a) a hospital or provider as defined by section twenty-eight hundred 11 one of the public health law; 12 (b) a professional licensed under article one hundred thirty-one, one 13 hundred thirty-one-b, one hundred thirty-one-c, one hundred thirty-two, 14 one hundred thirty-three, one hundred thirty-four, one hundred thirty- 15 six, one hundred thirty-seven, one hundred thirty-seven-a, one hundred 16 thirty-nine, one hundred forty, one hundred forty-one, one hundred 17 forty-three, one hundred forty-four, one hundred fifty-three, one 18 hundred fifty-seven, one hundred sixty-three, one hundred sixty-four, or 19 one hundred sixty-seven of the education law; or 20 (c) an issuer or provider of coverage for health insurance, as defined 21 by section seven thousand seven hundred five of the insurance law. 22 2. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any health care 23 entity to refuse services or to otherwise discriminate against any EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD09201-02-5 
 A. 6596 2 1 person on the basis of such person's age, race, creed, color, national 2 origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender 3 identity or expression, military status, sex, disability, predisposing 4 genetic characteristics, familial status, marital status, or status as a 5 victim of domestic violence. 6 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.