Bill > S05565

This bill requires health insurance policies, including individual, group, and blanket policies, as well as Medicaid, to cover patient navigation services for individuals with serious medical conditions. Patient navigation services are defined as support activities that help patients access and manage their healthcare, including screening for non-clinical social needs, connecting patients to support services like transportation and housing, helping with program enrollment, arranging and accompanying patients to healthcare visits, and providing health education and advocacy. To be eligible for these services, an individual must have a serious condition expected to last at least three months and be at high risk for hospitalization, nursing home placement, symptom worsening, physical or mental decline, or death. Patient navigators must be trained and certified through a national program or one approved by the state health department, and must work under the supervision of a licensed healthcare provider. These requirements will apply to all insurance policies issued, renewed, or modified on or after the first of January following the bill's passage, with preparatory regulatory work allowed to begin immediately.

Budget and Finance, Business and Industry

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S5565