Bill > A01921

This bill mandates that insurance policies providing coverage for pain must offer outpatient coverage for at least three non-pharmacological treatments for chronic pain, such as massage therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and acupuncture, and at least two non-opioid drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for pain relief. The bill ensures that access to these treatments and drugs is comparable to other covered services and that coverage for services provided by licensed professionals is also comparable. Importantly, it prohibits insurance plans from imposing financial requirements or treatment limitations on non-opioid pain treatments that are more restrictive than those applied to most other medical benefits or to opioid-based pain treatments. This means that non-opioid drugs should not be unfairly disadvantaged, for example, by being classified as non-preferred when opioid drugs are preferred, or by having stricter prior authorization or step-therapy requirements. The bill defines "chronic pain" as pain lasting more than three months and "acute pain" as pain expected to last a short period. These provisions apply to various types of insurance policies, including individual, group, and blanket policies, as well as contracts issued by hospital, health, and medical expense indemnity corporations, and will take effect on January 1st of the year following its enactment, applying to policies and contracts issued or modified on or after that date.

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https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A1921