Bill Text: NY A00973 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Provides treatment for sexually transmitted diseases to minors without a parent's or guardian's consent; provides definition for health care practitioner.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 21-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to health [A00973 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A00973-Amended.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         973--A
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 14, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of A. PAULIN, GOTTFRIED, DINOWITZ, JAFFEE, L. ROSEN-
          THAL, STECK, BRONSON, FAHY -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of  A.  HEVESI,
          PERRY,  RICHARDSON,  SIMON,  WRIGHT  --  read once and referred to the
          Committee on Health -- committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
        AN  ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to providing medical
          care to minors for sexually transmitted diseases without a parent's or
          guardian's consent
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1. Section 2305 of the public health law, as amended by chap-
     2  ter 878 of the laws of 1980, the section heading and subdivisions 1  and
     3  2  as amended by section 35 of part E of chapter 56 of the laws of 2013,
     4  is amended to read as follows:
     5    § 2305. Sexually transmitted diseases; care and treatment [by licensed
     6  physician or staff physician of a hospital; prescriptions];  consent  by
     7  minors.  1. No person, other than a [licensed physician, or, in a hospi-
     8  tal, a staff physician] health care practitioner, shall diagnose,  treat
     9  or  prescribe  for  a person who is infected with a sexually transmitted
    10  disease, or who has been exposed to infection with a sexually  transmit-
    11  ted  disease,  or  dispense  or  sell a drug, medicine or remedy for the
    12  treatment of such person except on  prescription  of  a  [duly  licensed
    13  physician] health care practitioner.
    14    2.  (a)  A  [licensed physician, or in a hospital, a staff physician,]
    15  health care practitioner may diagnose, treat or prescribe treatment  for
    16  a  sexually  transmitted  disease for a person under the age of [twenty-
    17  one] eighteen years without the consent or knowledge of the  parents  or
    18  [guardian]  guardians of said person, where such person is infected with
    19  a sexually transmitted disease, or has been exposed to infection with  a
    20  sexually transmitted disease.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00631-02-9

        A. 973--A                           2
     1    (b)  A health care practitioner may provide health care related to the
     2  prevention of a sexually transmissible disease, including  administering
     3  vaccines,  to  a  person  under  the  age  of eighteen years without the
     4  consent or knowledge  of  the  parents  or  guardians  of  such  person,
     5  provided  that  the  person has capacity to consent to the care, without
     6  regard to the person's age, and the person consents.
     7    (c) Any release of patient  information  regarding  vaccines  provided
     8  under this section shall be consistent with sections seventeen and eigh-
     9  teen of this chapter and other applicable laws and regulations.
    10    3. For the purposes of this section, [the term]
    11    (a)  "hospital"  shall  mean  a hospital as defined in article twenty-
    12  eight of this chapter; and
    13    (b) "health care practitioner" shall mean a person licensed, certified
    14  or otherwise authorized to practice under title eight of  the  education
    15  law, acting within his or her lawful scope of practice.
    16    §  2.  The  first  undesignated  paragraph of section 17 of the public
    17  health law, as amended by chapter 322 of the laws of 2017, is amended to
    18  read ad follows:
    19    Upon the written request of any competent patient, parent or  guardian
    20  of an infant, a guardian appointed pursuant to article eighty-one of the
    21  mental  hygiene  law,  or  conservator  of  a conservatee, an examining,
    22  consulting or treating physician or hospital must release  and  deliver,
    23  exclusive of personal notes of the said physician or hospital, copies of
    24  all  x-rays,  medical  records and test records including all laboratory
    25  tests regarding that patient to any other designated physician or hospi-
    26  tal provided, however, that such records concerning the care and  treat-
    27  ment  of an infant patient for venereal disease or the performance of an
    28  abortion operation upon such infant patient shall not be released or  in
    29  any  manner  be made available to the parent or guardian of such infant,
    30  and provided, further, that  original  mammograms,  rather  than  copies
    31  thereof, shall be released and delivered. Either the physician or hospi-
    32  tal incurring the expense of providing copies of x-rays, medical records
    33  and  test  records  including  all  laboratory  tests  pursuant  to  the
    34  provisions of this section may impose a reasonable charge to be paid  by
    35  the  person  requesting  the  release and deliverance of such records as
    36  reimbursement for such expenses, provided, however, that  the  physician
    37  or  hospital  may  not impose a charge for copying an original mammogram
    38  when the original has  been  released  or  delivered  to  any  competent
    39  patient,  parent or guardian of an infant, a guardian appointed pursuant
    40  to article eighty-one of the mental hygiene law, or a conservator  of  a
    41  conservatee  and  provided,  further,  that any charge for delivering an
    42  original mammogram pursuant to this section shall not exceed  the  docu-
    43  mented  costs  associated  therewith. However, the reasonable charge for
    44  paper copies shall not exceed seventy-five cents per page. A release  of
    45  records under this section shall not be denied solely because of inabil-
    46  ity  to  pay. No charge may be imposed under this section for providing,
    47  releasing, or delivering medical records or copies  of  medical  records
    48  where  requested  for the purpose of supporting an application, claim or
    49  appeal for any government benefit or program,  provided  that,  where  a
    50  provider  maintains medical records in electronic form, it shall provide
    51  the copy in either electronic or paper form, as required by the  govern-
    52  ment benefit or program, or at the patient's request.
    53    § 3. Paragraph (i) of subdivision 3 of section 18 of the public health
    54  law,  as added by chapter 634 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as
    55  follows:

        A. 973--A                           3
     1    (i) The release of patient information shall be subject to: (i)  arti-
     2  cle  twenty-seven-F  of this chapter in the case of confidential HIV-re-
     3  lated information; (ii) section seventeen of this article  and  sections
     4  [twenty-three  hundred  one,]  twenty-three hundred six and twenty-three
     5  hundred eight of this chapter in the case of termination of a pregnancy,
     6  and care and treatment for a sexually transmitted disease; (iii) article
     7  thirty-three of the mental hygiene law; and (iv) any other provisions of
     8  law  creating  special  requirements  relating to the release of patient
     9  information, including the  federal  health  insurance  portability  and
    10  accountability act of 1996 and its implementing regulations.
    11    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
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