New York Senate Bill S03131 Latest Draft

   
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3131 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 23, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HELMING -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to aligning Medi- caid optional services with private sector health benefits The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "Medicaid taxpayer equity act". 3 § 2. The legislature hereby finds that it is fundamentally unfair to 4 the taxpayers of the state for Medicaid optional services to exceed the 5 minimum health insurance benefits levels that are required for private 6 sector health insurance plans. Higher benefit levels for Medicaid 7 compared to private insurance create a disincentive for people to leave 8 public assistance and accept private employment and private health 9 coverage. Higher Medicaid benefit levels are also a contributing factor 10 causing the state to have the highest Medicaid costs in the nation and 11 some of the highest property taxes in the nation. The purpose of this 12 act is to ensure that Medicaid optional services for adults do not 13 exceed the minimum health insurance benefit levels that apply to private 14 insurance plans, other than long-term care services. 15 § 3. Title 11 of article 5 of the social services law is amended by 16 adding a new section 362 to read as follows: 17 § 362. Benefits provided under this title for Medicaid optional 18 services. The state shall not offer to individuals over the age of twen- 19 ty-one years Medicaid optional services that exceed the minimum benefits 20 required for health care plans under article forty-three of the insur- 21 ance law. This section shall not apply to Medicaid long-term care 22 services. 23 § 4. The commissioner of the department of health shall submit to the 24 federal department of health and human services for approval any amend- 25 ments to the state plan required by this act. Furthermore, the commis- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07239-01-5 
 S. 3131 2 1 sioner of the department of health shall have the authority to promul- 2 gate or amend any regulations necessary for the implementation of this 3 act. 4 § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 5 it shall have become a law.