S 4851: Expands which individuals qualify to be an individual's personal assistant for the purposes of consumer directed personal assistance programs to include an eligible individual's attorney-in-fact, health care proxy, or legal guardian.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4851 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE February 13, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to expanding which individuals qualify to be an individual's personal assistant for the purposes of consumer directed personal assistance programs The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 365-f of the social services law, 2 as amended by section 9 of part QQ of chapter 56 of the laws of 2020, is 3 amended to read as follows: 4 3. Division of responsibilities. Eligible individuals who elect to 5 participate in the program assume the responsibility for services under 6 such program as mutually agreed to by the eligible individual and 7 provider and as documented in the eligible individual's record, includ- 8 ing, but not limited to, recruiting, hiring and supervising their 9 personal assistants. For the purposes of this section, personal assist- 10 ant shall mean an adult who has obtained an individual unique identifier 11 from the state by or before a date determined by the commissioner of 12 health in consultation with the Medicaid inspector general, and provides 13 services under this section to the eligible individual under the eligi- 14 ble individual's instruction, supervision and direction or under the 15 instruction, supervision and direction of the eligible individual's 16 designated representative, provided that a [person legally responsible 17 for an eligible individual's care and support,] parent of an eligible 18 individual who has not reached the age of eighteen years or an eligible 19 individual's spouse or designated representative may not be the personal 20 assistant for the eligible individual [; however, a]. A personal assist- 21 ant may include any other adult, including any other adult relative, 22 attorney-in-fact, health care proxy, or legal guardian of the eligible 23 individual, provided, however, that the program determines that the 24 services provided by such relative are consistent with an individual's EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02086-01-5 
 S. 4851 2 1 plan of care and that the aggregate cost for such services does not 2 exceed the aggregate costs for equivalent services provided by a non-re- 3 lative personal assistant. Any personal information submitted to obtain 4 such unique identifier shall be maintained as confidential pursuant to 5 article six-A of the public officers law ("New York state privacy 6 protection law"). Such individuals shall be assisted as appropriate with 7 service coverage, supervision, advocacy and management. Providers shall 8 not be liable for fulfillment of responsibilities agreed to be undertak- 9 en by the eligible individual. This subdivision, however, shall not 10 diminish the participating provider's liability for failure to exercise 11 reasonable care in properly carrying out its responsibilities under this 12 program, which shall include monitoring such individual's continuing 13 ability to fulfill those responsibilities documented in [his or her] 14 their records. Failure of the individual to carry out his or her agreed 15 to responsibilities may be considered in determining such individual's 16 continued appropriateness for the program. 17 § 2. The commissioner of health is authorized and directed to seek 18 additional federal funding to maximize federal financial participation 19 with respect to the consumer directed personal assistance program and to 20 seek such other federal approvals as applicable. 21 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.