Bill Text: NY A09369 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Relates to the automatic identification of elderly pharmaceutical insurance coverage program enrollees who are eligible for HEAP and automatic enrollment of such eligible enrollees in HEAP.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 25-4)

Status: (Passed) 2024-12-21 - approval memo.69 [A09369 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A09369-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         9369--A

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      March 6, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. McDONALD, LUNSFORD, SEAWRIGHT, GUNTHER, CLARK,
          BURDICK, HEVESI, K. BROWN, DICKENS -- read once and  referred  to  the
          Committee  on  Aging  --  committee  discharged, bill amended, ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the elder law, in relation to the automatic  identifica-
          tion  and  enrollment  of  elderly  pharmaceutical  insurance coverage
          program enrollees in the home energy assistance program

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

     1    Section  1.  The  elder  law is amended by adding a new section 245 to
     2  read as follows:
     3    § 245. Automated identification of program participants.  1.  For  the
     4  purposes  of  this section, the following terms shall have the following
     5  meanings:
     6    (a) "Office" shall mean the state office of temporary  and  disability
     7  assistance.
     8    (b)  "Home  energy  assistance program" shall mean the low-income home
     9  energy assistance program implemented pursuant to  section  ninety-seven
    10  of the social services law.
    11    2.  The  department  of health shall update the elderly pharmaceutical
    12  insurance coverage program application to allow program participants  to
    13  consent,  in a manner that is separate and apart from other requests for
    14  consent contained in the application, to the exchange  of  such  partic-
    15  ipant's  information  to verify such enrollee's eligibility for the home
    16  energy assistance program.  Upon receipt of such consent, the department
    17  of taxation and finance shall confirm such participant's income  at  the
    18  time of enrollment.
    19    3. The department of health shall coordinate with the office to facil-
    20  itate  the  secure  transmission  of  data through an interface with the
    21  office's information technology infrastructure.
    22    4. No less than once per  month,  the  office,  upon  receipt  of  the
    23  required  data elements from the department of health and the department
    24  of taxation and finance, as  such  data  elements  are  defined  by  the
    25  office,  shall conduct automated file matching to identify elderly phar-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14704-02-4
        A. 9369--A                          2

     1  maceutical insurance coverage program participants who are eligible  for
     2  the  home  energy assistance program.  Within sixty days of receipt that
     3  an  elderly  pharmaceutical  insurance  coverage  program  participant's
     4  eligibility  for  the  home  energy assistance program is confirmed, the
     5  office shall  enroll  such  elderly  pharmaceutical  insurance  coverage
     6  program participant in the home energy assistance program.
     7    5.  Upon  automatic  enrollment in the home energy assistance program,
     8  the department of health  shall  provide  written  notification  to  the
     9  elderly  pharmaceutical  insurance coverage program participant of their
    10  enrollment in such program and shall provide information  regarding  the
    11  program's benefits.
    12    6.  The  office,  in  consultation  with  the department of health, is
    13  authorized to promulgate any rules and regulations  necessary  to  carry
    14  out the provisions of this section.
    15    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    16  it  shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
    17  ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
    18  tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be  made  and
    19  completed on or before such effective date.