S 354: Expands the healthcare services provided by telehealth.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 354 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. RIVERA, WEBB -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to expanding health- care services provided by telehealth 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 19 twenty-nine hundred ninety-nine-ee of this article, and audio-only tele- 20 phone communication defined in regulations promulgated pursuant to 21 subdivision four of section twenty-nine hundred ninety-nine-cc of this 22 article, shall be contingent upon federal financial participation. 23 Notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision, for services 24 licensed, certified or otherwise authorized pursuant to article sixteen, EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00659-01-5 
 S. 354 2 1 article thirty-one or article thirty-two of the mental hygiene law, such 2 services provided by telehealth[, as deemed appropriate by the relevant 3 commissioner,] shall be reimbursed at the applicable in person rates or 4 fees established by law, or otherwise established or certified by the 5 office for people with developmental disabilities, office of mental 6 health, or the office of addiction services and supports pursuant to 7 article forty-three of the mental hygiene law, unless a specific service 8 is deemed inappropriate by the relevant commissioner. 9 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 10 have become a law, provided, however, that the amendments to subdivision 11 1 of section 2999-dd of the public health law made by section one of 12 this act shall not affect the expiration of such subdivision and shall 13 be deemed to expire therewith.