S 6862: Requires health insurers to provide coverage for long term medical care for Lyme disease and other tick borne related pathogens.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6862 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE March 25, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. WEBB -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Insurance AN ACT to amend the insurance law and the workers' compensation law, in relation to coverage of long term medical care for Lyme disease and other tick borne related pathogens The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subsection (i) of section 3216 of the insurance law is 2 amended by adding a new paragraph 41 to read as follows: 3 (41) Every insurer issuing a policy of accident and health insurance 4 for delivery in this state shall provide coverage for all costs for 5 treatment of Lyme disease (Lyme borreliosis) and other tick borne 6 related pathogens. Such treatment shall include not less than thirty 7 days of intravenous antibiotic therapy, sixty days of oral antibiotic 8 therapy, or both, and shall provide further treatment if recommended by 9 a physician licensed to practice medicine in the state of New York. 10 § 2. Subsection (l) of section 3221 of the insurance law is amended by 11 adding a new paragraph 23 to read as follows: 12 (23) Every group or blanket policy delivered or issued for delivery in 13 this state which provides hospital, surgical or medical coverage shall 14 provide coverage for all costs for treatment of Lyme disease (Lyme 15 borreliosis) and other tick borne related pathogens. Such treatment 16 shall include not less than thirty days of intravenous antibiotic thera- 17 py, sixty days of oral antibiotic therapy, or both, and shall provide 18 further treatment if recommended by a physician licensed to practice 19 medicine in the state of New York. 20 § 3. Section 4303 of the insurance law is amended by adding a new 21 subsection (ww) to read as follows: 22 (ww) Every medical expense indemnity corporation, hospital service 23 corporation and health service corporation which provides coverage for 24 medical, surgical or major medical care shall provide coverage for all EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD09446-02-5 
 S. 6862 2 1 costs for treatment of Lyme disease (Lyme borreliosis) and other tick 2 borne related pathogens. Such treatment shall include not less than 3 thirty days of intravenous antibiotic therapy, sixty days of oral anti- 4 biotic therapy, or both, and shall provide further treatment if recom- 5 mended by a physician licensed to practice medicine in the state of New 6 York. 7 § 4. Paragraph 30 of subdivision 2 of section 3 of the workers' 8 compensation law, as renumbered by chapter 665 of the laws of 1971, is 9 renumbered paragraph 31 and a new paragraph 30 is added to read as 10 follows: 11 30. Lyme disease 30. Any process involving 12 (Lyme borreliosis)  outdoor activity or 13 and other tick borne  treatment of animals. 14 related pathogens. 15 § 5. The closing paragraph of subdivision 2 of section 3 of the work- 16 ers' compensation law, as amended by chapter 666 of the laws of 1971, is 17 amended to read as follows: 18 Nothing in paragraph [thirty] thirty-one of this subdivision shall be 19 construed to apply to any disability or death due to any disease 20 described in paragraph twenty-nine of this subdivision. 21 § 6. Subdivision 9 of section 201 of the workers' compensation law is 22 amended by adding a new paragraph C to read as follows: 23 C. "Disability" also includes disability caused by or in connection 24 with Lyme disease (Lyme borreliosis) and other tick borne related patho- 25 gens. 26 § 7. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 27 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend- 28 ment and/or repeal of any rules or regulations necessary for the imple- 29 mentation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made 30 and completed on or before such effective date.