Bill Text: NY S00499 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relates to elevated lead levels in children, and requires insurance companies to cover testing for elevated lead levels.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO HEALTH [S00499 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S00499-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         499--A
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                       (Prefiled)
                                     January 9, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sens.  RIVERA,  MAY, SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered
          printed, and when printed to be committed 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, the  insurance  law,  the  social
          services  law and the public housing law, in relation to elevated lead
          levels in children
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Dakota's Law".
     2    §  2.  Subdivision  6  of  section  1370  of the public health law, as
     3  amended by chapter 485 of the laws  of  1992,  is  amended  to  read  as
     4  follows:
     5    6.  "Elevated  lead  levels"  means a blood lead level greater than or
     6  equal to [ten] five micrograms of lead per deciliter of whole  blood  or
     7  such  lower  blood  lead  level  as may be established by the department
     8  pursuant to rule or regulation.
     9    § 3. The public health law is amended by adding a new  section  1370-f
    10  to read as follows:
    11    §  1370-f.  Federal  guidance  change incorporation. Within six months
    12  after the date on which the  federal  department  of  health  and  human
    13  services  has  published  guidance recommending a lower concentration of
    14  lead in blood than the concentration established by subdivision  six  of
    15  section  thirteen  hundred  seventy of this title as the reference level
    16  for conducting  an  environmental  intervention,  the  department  shall
    17  publish a notice of proposed rulemaking incorporating such guidance into
    18  its regulations.
    19    §  4. Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subdivision 2 of section 1370-a of the
    20  public health law, paragraph (c) as amended by section 4 of  part  A  of
    21  chapter  58  of  the laws of 2009, and paragraph (d) as added by chapter
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05593-05-9
        S. 499--A                           2
     1  485 of the laws of 1992, are amended and three new paragraphs  (e),  (f)
     2  and (g) are added to read as follows:
     3    (c) establish a statewide registry of lead levels of children provided
     4  such information is maintained as confidential except for (i) disclosure
     5  for  medical  treatment  purposes;  (ii)  disclosure  of non-identifying
     6  epidemiological data; and (iii)  disclosure  of  information  from  such
     7  registry to the statewide immunization information system established by
     8  section twenty-one hundred sixty-eight of this chapter; [and]
     9    (d)  develop  and  implement  public  education and community outreach
    10  programs on lead exposure, detection and risk reduction[.];
    11    (e) establish a process that allows physicians to record when a  child
    12  under  such  physician's  care  has  completed  a  lead screening and/or
    13  obtained a blood test for lead to the statewide immunization information
    14  system established by section twenty-one  hundred  sixty-eight  of  this
    15  chapter;
    16    (f)  add a question to the lead exposure risk assessment questionnaire
    17  for children which shall include a question  asking  if  the  child  has
    18  obtained  a  blood  test  for  lead at the ages of twelve months old and
    19  twenty-four months old; and
    20    (g) establish a hotline, to be operated by the department, to serve as
    21  a centralized system for physicians to report elevated  lead  levels  as
    22  required  pursuant  to section thirteen hundred seventy-e of this title.
    23  The department shall utilize the information reported to such hotline to
    24  notify the appropriate local or state health officer  of  elevated  lead
    25  levels as required to be reported pursuant to this title.
    26    §  5.  Subdivision  1  of  section 1370-e of the public health law, as
    27  added by chapter 485 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows:
    28    1. Every physician or authorized practitioner  shall  give  notice  of
    29  elevated lead levels [as specified by the commissioner pursuant to regu-
    30  lation,]  of five micrograms of lead per deciliter of whole blood to the
    31  health officer of the  health  district  wherein  the  patient  resides,
    32  except as otherwise provided.
    33    §  6. Section 1373 of the public health law is amended by adding a new
    34  subdivision 6 to read as follows:
    35    6. (a) The commissioner or  their  representative  shall  require  the
    36  jurisdictional  local or state health department to investigate cases of
    37  elevated lead levels, as defined in subdivision six of section  thirteen
    38  hundred  seventy  of  this  title,  that are reported by physicians to a
    39  local or state health  officer  pursuant  to  section  thirteen  hundred
    40  seventy-e of this title.
    41    (b)  A  jurisdictional  local health department may request assistance
    42  from the state department of health to  investigate  cases  of  elevated
    43  lead levels if such jurisdictional local health department does not have
    44  the  capacity  and/or  resources  to  investigate such cases as required
    45  pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision.
    46    (c) For the purposes of this  subdivision,  "jurisdictional  local  or
    47  state health department" shall mean the local or state health department
    48  of  the  local  or  state  health  officer whom a physician has reported
    49  elevated lead levels to pursuant to section thirteen  hundred  seventy-e
    50  of this title.
    51    § 7. Subsection (i) of section 3216 of the insurance law is amended by
    52  adding a new paragraph 35 to read as follows:
    53    (35) Screening for the detection of elevated lead levels covered under
    54  the  policy  shall  not be subject to annual deductibles or coinsurance.
    55  For the purposes of this paragraph, "elevated lead  levels"  shall  have
        S. 499--A                           3
     1  the  same  meaning  as  set forth in subdivision six of section thirteen
     2  hundred seventy of the public health law.
     3    § 8. Subsection (k) of section 3221 of the insurance law is amended by
     4  adding a new paragraph 22 to read as follows:
     5    (22) Screening for the detection of elevated lead levels covered under
     6  the  policy  shall  not be subject to annual deductibles or coinsurance.
     7  For the purposes of this paragraph, "elevated lead  levels"  shall  have
     8  the  same  meaning  as  set forth in subdivision six of section thirteen
     9  hundred seventy of the public health law.
    10    § 9. Section 4303 of the insurance law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    11  subsection (ss) to read as follows:
    12    (ss) Screening for the detection of elevated lead levels covered under
    13  the  policy  shall  not be subject to annual deductibles or coinsurance.
    14  For the purposes of this subsection, "elevated lead levels"  shall  have
    15  the  same  meaning  as  set forth in subdivision six of section thirteen
    16  hundred seventy of the public health law.
    17    § 10. Subdivision 2 of section 365-a of the  social  services  law  is
    18  amended by adding a new paragraph (ff) to read as follows:
    19    (ff)  screening  and blood tests of children for elevated lead levels.
    20  For the purposes of this paragraph, elevated lead levels means  a  blood
    21  lead  level greater than or equal to five micrograms of lead per decili-
    22  ter of whole blood.
    23    § 11. Subdivision 4 of section 14 of the public housing law is amended
    24  by adding a new paragraph (e) to read as follows:
    25    (e) the commissioner shall promulgate rules, regulations and  policies
    26  which:
    27    (i)  set  the  action  level  for  lead to five micrograms of lead per
    28  deciliter of whole blood when identifying elevated blood lead levels  of
    29  children occupying a dwelling in public housing; and
    30    (ii)  require projects to follow the federal department of housing and
    31  urban development's guidance on lead safe  housing  rule  pertaining  to
    32  elevated  blood  levels  for the public housing, housing choice voucher,
    33  and project-based voucher programs.
    34    § 12. This act shall take effect immediately.