Bill Text: NY S05812 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Directs the department of health to request guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to determine whether the state can claim federal financial participation for coverage of and payment for certain evidence-based mobile medical applications.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO HEALTH [S05812 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S05812-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5812

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     March 17, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Health

        AN ACT in relation to determining whether the state  can  claim  federal
          financial  participation  for  coverage  of  and  payment  for certain
          evidence-based mobile medical applications

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Legislative  findings  and  declaration.  Within the past
     2  decade, it has become clear more needs to be done for New  Yorkers  with
     3  substance  use  disorders.  From  2010 to 2021, the number of fatal drug
     4  overdoses in New York state alone increased from 1,557  to  5,841.  This
     5  problem  was  only  exacerbated  by  the  COVID-19 pandemic, which was a
     6  relapse and addiction  catalyst  for  many  individuals.  Evidence-based
     7  smartphone  apps  are new, software-based disease treatments designed to
     8  directly treat disease, tested for safety  and  efficacy  in  randomized
     9  clinical  trials, evaluated by  the FDA,  and  prescribed  by healthcare
    10  providers. These  therapies  are designed and tested  much  like  tradi-
    11  tional prescription  drugs  with  one distinction: rather  than swallow-
    12  ing  a pill  or taking an injection, patients are treated with software.
    13  Certain    evidence-based    smartphone  apps   provide   clinicians and
    14  patients  with  evidence-based  remote  treatment  modalities  to  treat
    15  substance    and  opioid    use  disorders, mental health,   and   other
    16  diseases and conditions. However, there is no  clear  statutory  benefit
    17  category  to allow Medicaid coverage for evidence-based smartphone apps.
    18  In light of the promise of  evidence-based  smartphone apps   for    the
    19  treatment    of  patients  with  substance  use and opioid use disorders
    20  during  the  COVID-19 pandemic,  this  legislation   would require  that
    21  the  New  York state department of health seek guidance from the Centers
    22  for Medicare and Medicaid Services  relative    to    a    coverage  and
    23  reimbursement    pathway for evidence-based smartphone apps, in order to
    24  accelerate access to such therapies for enrollees.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06394-02-3
        S. 5812                             2

     1    § 2. No later than 30 days from the effective date of  this  act,  the
     2  New  York  state  department  of  health shall request guidance from the
     3  Centers for Medicare and Medicaid  Services  to  determine  whether  the
     4  state  can  claim  federal  financial  participation for coverage of and
     5  payment  for  evidence-based mobile medical applications approved by the
     6  food and drug administration to  treat  substance  use  and  opioid  use
     7  disorders.
     8    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.