Bill Text: NY S01633 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides additional protections for sensitive health information and requires all health information networks, electronic health record systems, and health care providers to provide patients with a right to restrict the disclosures of such patient's health information; defines terms; provides for exceptions.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-13 - REFERRED TO HEALTH [S01633 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-S01633-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1633 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 13, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. FERNANDEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to providing addi- tional protections for sensitive health information and requiring all health information networks, electronic health record systems, and health care providers to provide patients with a right to restrict the disclosures of such patient's health information The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding two new sections 2 25 and 26 to read as follows: 3 § 25. Privacy of information disclosed through health information 4 networks. 1. Definitions. For purposes of this section: 5 (a) "Business associate" shall have the same meaning as set forth in 6 45 CFR 160.103. 7 (b) "Codified sensitive information" means patient information that, 8 by associated standard codes commonly used in the exchange of patient 9 information including, but not limited to ICD-10 or SNOMED, can be iden- 10 tified as sensitive information in accordance with subdivision three of 11 this section. 12 (c) "Disclosure" means the release, transfer, provision of access to, 13 or divulging in any manner of information outside the entity that deliv- 14 ered the health care and the patient who received the care, and such 15 term shall not include any of the exceptions set forth in the definition 16 of "disclosure to any other person" as defined in paragraph (e) of 17 subdivision one of section eighteen of this chapter. 18 (d) "Electronic health records system" means any entity operating in 19 the state of New York that electronically stores or maintains patient 20 information, electronic health records, personal health records, health 21 care claims, or payment and other administrative data on behalf of a EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04417-02-5S. 1633 2 1 health care provider, health care service plan, pharmaceutical company, 2 contractor, or employer. 3 (e) "Health care provider" shall have the same meaning as set forth in 4 paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section eighteen of this title and 5 for purposes of this section shall refer to health care providers that 6 are located in the state of New York and use a health information 7 network to receive, hold or exchange patient information on their 8 behalf. 9 (f) "Health information network" shall mean any entity, including a 10 health information technology developer of certified health information 11 technology, that receives, holds or exchanges patient information in 12 electronic form on behalf of a health care provider and makes such 13 information available to two or more individuals or entities that are 14 unaffiliated with the health care provider for purposes of treatment, 15 payment, or health care operations, as those terms are defined under 16 HIPAA, or a qualified health information network as established under 17 TEFCA, which exchanges patient information on behalf of a health care 18 provider located in the state of New York. An entity may qualify as a 19 "health information network" irrespective of whether such entity 20 receives funding from the department. The term "health information 21 network" shall not include: 22 (i) a health care provider; 23 (ii) an entity that makes patient information available solely: 24 (1) from one health care provider to a single health care provider as 25 part of a referral, prescription, or consultation; 26 (2) as necessary for the payment of a health care claim; 27 (3) among affiliates of a single health care provider; 28 (4) to individuals and entities under contract with the entity who 29 meet the definition of a "business associate" under HIPAA and who proc- 30 ess patient information only as directed by a health care provider and 31 do not disclose patient information; or 32 (5) as necessary to operate clinical data registries, provide organ 33 donation coordination services and other similar services as deemed 34 appropriate by the department in regulation; 35 (iii) a health insurer or a health maintenance organization, when 36 acting as a health insurer, to the extent it exchanges patient informa- 37 tion via HIPAA standard transactions; and 38 (iv) an entity that makes patient information available solely to and 39 between health information networks and has no ability to access, modi- 40 fy, or further disclose patient information, including, but not limited 41 to, the recognized coordinating entity under TEFCA. 42 (g) "HIPAA" means the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability 43 Act of 1996 and its implementing regulations at 45 C.F.R. Parts 160, 44 162, and 164. 45 (h) "Non-codified sensitive information" means patient information 46 that contains or reveals sensitive information, but that is not associ- 47 ated with standardized codes and shall include, but is not limited to 48 notes, visit summaries, laboratory results and images. 49 (i) "Patient information" shall have the same meaning as set forth in 50 paragraph (e) of subdivision one of section eighteen of this chapter. 51 (j) "Qualified person" shall have the same meaning as set forth in 52 paragraph (g) of subdivision one of section eighteen of this title. 53 (k) "Sensitive information" means patient information that contains or 54 reveals reproductive health services as defined in paragraph (a) of 55 subdivision one of section sixty-five hundred thirty-one-b of the educa- 56 tion law, gender-affirming care as defined in paragraph (c) of subdivi-S. 1633 3 1 sion one of section sixty-five hundred thirty-one-b of the education 2 law, care protected under 42 CFR part 2, diagnosis and treatment for a 3 sexually transmitted infection or HIV, mental health services, alcohol 4 or substance use treatment, and any other health care services deter- 5 mined by the commissioner through regulations, in consultation with 6 health care providers, patient advocates, health information networks 7 and other relevant stakeholders. 8 (l) "TEFCA" means the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement 9 authorized by the 21st Century Cures Act. 10 2. Patient right to restrict disclosures by health information 11 networks. Within one hundred eighty days from the effective date of this 12 section, the department shall establish rules and regulations requiring 13 any health information network to: 14 (a) provide qualified persons with the means of requesting, without 15 undue effort, restrictions on disclosures of patient information from 16 all health information networks; 17 (b) subject to any regulatory exceptions established by the depart- 18 ment, abide by the terms of a qualified person's requested restriction 19 made under paragraph (a) of this subdivision; and 20 (c) subject to any regulatory exceptions established by the depart- 21 ment, provide or cause to be provided to qualified persons, upon 22 request, a report or notifications detailing disclosures of the applica- 23 ble patient's patient information by or through all health information 24 networks. 25 3. Additional protections for codified sensitive information by health 26 information networks. (a) Within one hundred eighty days from the effec- 27 tive date of this section, the department shall establish rules and 28 regulations, consistent with state and federal law and regulations, 29 including but not limited to article thirty-three of the mental hygiene 30 law and section twenty-seven hundred eighty-two of this chapter, requir- 31 ing any health information network to: 32 (i) develop the capacity to limit the disclosure of codified sensitive 33 information while allowing for the disclosure of a patient's other 34 health information; 35 (ii) when directed by a qualified person, limit user access privileges 36 to codified sensitive information to only those HIPAA covered entities 37 whom the qualified person has specifically authorized to access the 38 codified sensitive information; 39 (iii) provide the ability to automatically disable access to codified 40 sensitive information by an individual or entity located outside the 41 state of New York as directed by a qualified person; and 42 (iv) unless otherwise ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction, 43 notify the qualified person and the provider who rendered the health 44 care documented in the codified sensitive information at least thirty 45 days prior to complying with a civil, criminal, or regulatory inquiry, 46 investigation, subpoena, or summons for codified sensitive information. 47 (b) Such rules and regulations shall also: 48 (i) establish a list of procedure codes, diagnosis codes, medication 49 codes, and other appropriate codes that constitute codified sensitive 50 information; 51 (ii) set forth exceptions to the requirement to block the disclosure 52 of codified sensitive information as required by paragraph (a) of this 53 subdivision, including for disclosures to individuals and entities under 54 contract with a health information network who meet the definition of a 55 "business associate" under HIPAA and who do not re-disclose such patient 56 information; andS. 1633 4 1 (iii) establish guidelines for the authorization necessary to limit 2 disclosure of codified sensitive information pursuant to subparagraphs 3 (ii) and (iii) of paragraph (a) of this subdivision. 4 4. Additional protections for sensitive information by electronic 5 health records systems. (a) Within one hundred eighty days of the effec- 6 tive date of this section, the department shall establish rules and 7 regulations, consistent with state and federal law and regulations, 8 including but not limited to article thirty-three of the mental hygiene 9 law and section twenty-seven hundred eighty-two of this chapter, requir- 10 ing any electronic health records system to: 11 (i) develop the capacity to provide qualified persons with the means 12 of requesting, without undue effort, restrictions on disclosures of 13 patient information; 14 (ii) develop the capacity to limit the disclosure of codified sensi- 15 tive information while allowing for the disclosure of a patient's other 16 health information; 17 (iii) when directed by a qualified person, limit user access privi- 18 leges to codified sensitive information to only those HIPAA covered 19 entities whom the qualified person has specifically authorized to access 20 the sensitive information; 21 (iv) provide the ability to automatically disable access to codified 22 sensitive information by an individual or entity located outside the 23 state of New York as directed by a qualified person; and 24 (v) unless otherwise ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction, 25 notify the qualified person and the provider who rendered the health 26 care documented in the codified sensitive information at least thirty 27 days prior to complying with a civil, criminal, or regulatory inquiry, 28 investigation, subpoena, or summons for codified sensitive information. 29 (b) Within one year of the effective date of this section, the depart- 30 ment shall establish rules and regulations, consistent with state and 31 federal law and regulations, including but not limited to article thir- 32 ty-three of the mental hygiene law and section twenty-seven hundred 33 eighty-two of this chapter, requiring any electronic health records 34 system to: 35 (i) develop the capacity to limit the disclosure of non-codified 36 sensitive information while allowing for the disclosure of a patient's 37 other health information; 38 (ii) when directed by a qualified person, limit user access privileges 39 to non-codified sensitive information to only those HIPAA covered enti- 40 ties whom the qualified person has specifically authorized to access the 41 non-codified sensitive information; 42 (iii) provide the ability to automatically disable access to non-codi- 43 fied sensitive information by an individual or entity located outside 44 the state of New York as directed by a qualified person; and 45 (iv) unless otherwise ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction, 46 notify the qualified person and the provider who rendered the health 47 care documented in the non-codified sensitive information at least thir- 48 ty days prior to complying with a civil, criminal, or regulatory 49 inquiry, investigation, subpoena, or summons for non-codified sensitive 50 information. 51 (c) The rules and regulations required by paragraphs (a) and (b) of 52 this subdivision shall also: 53 (i) set forth exceptions to the requirement to block the disclosure of 54 codified and non-codified sensitive information as required by para- 55 graphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision, including for disclosures to 56 individuals and entities under contract with a health informationS. 1633 5 1 network who meet the definition of a "business associate" under HIPAA 2 and who do not re-disclose such patient information; and 3 (ii) establish guidelines for the authorization necessary to limit 4 disclosure of codified and non-codified sensitive information pursuant 5 to subparagraphs (iii) and (iv) of paragraph (a) and subparagraphs (ii) 6 and (iii) of paragraph (b) of this section. 7 5. Authorization. Notwithstanding section eighteen of this title and 8 subdivision twenty-three of section sixty-five hundred thirty of the 9 education law, a health information network that abides by a qualified 10 person's request to limit disclosure of sensitive information shall not 11 be otherwise required to obtain authorization for the disclosure of 12 patient information, unless authorization is required in accordance with 13 subdivisions three or four of this section, article twenty-seven-F of 14 this chapter, the provisions of section seventeen of this title related 15 to prohibiting the release to an infant patient's parent or guardian of 16 information related to the treatment of such infant patient for venereal 17 disease or the performance of an abortion operation upon such infant 18 patient, section 33.13 of the mental hygiene law, section seventy-nine-l 19 of the civil rights law, section three hundred ninety-four-e of the 20 general business law, 42 CFR part 2, HIPAA, or other relevant federal, 21 state, or local laws. 22 § 26. Privacy of patient information held by health care providers. 23 1. Definitions. For purposes of this section: 24 (a) "Disclosure" means the release, transfer, provision of access to, 25 or divulging in any manner of information outside the entity that deliv- 26 ered the health care and the patient who received the care, and such 27 term shall not include any of the exceptions set forth in the definition 28 of "disclosure to any other person" as defined in paragraph (e) of 29 subdivision one of section eighteen of this chapter. 30 (b) "Health care provider" shall have the same meaning as set forth in 31 paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section eighteen of this chapter. 32 (c) "HIPAA" shall have the same meaning as set forth in paragraph (g) 33 of subdivision one of section twenty-five of this title. 34 (d) "Patient information" shall have the same meaning as set forth in 35 paragraph (e) of subdivision one of section eighteen of this title. 36 (e) "Qualified person" shall have the same meaning as set forth in 37 paragraph (g) of subdivision one of section eighteen of this title. 38 (f) "Sensitive information" shall have the same meaning as set forth 39 in paragraph (k) of subdivision one of section twenty-five of this 40 title. 41 2. Patient right to restrict disclosures by health care providers. 42 (a) Within one hundred eighty days from the effective date of this 43 subdivision, the department shall establish rules and regulations that 44 require health care providers to take reasonable steps to: 45 (i) provide qualified persons with the means of requesting 46 restrictions on disclosures of patient information consistent with the 47 obligations imposed by section twenty-five of this article; 48 (ii) notify qualified persons of their right to restrict the disclo- 49 sure of patient information; 50 (iii) subject to any regulatory exceptions established by the depart- 51 ment, abide by the terms of a qualified person's requested restriction; 52 and 53 (iv) unless otherwise ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction, 54 notify the qualified person at least thirty days prior to complying with 55 a civil, criminal, or regulatory inquiry, investigation, subpoena, or 56 summons for sensitive information.S. 1633 6 1 (b) The department's rules and regulations shall set forth exceptions 2 to a qualified person's right to restrict disclosures and shall include, 3 at a minimum, exceptions for: 4 (i) disclosures to public health authorities located in the state of 5 New York in accordance with New York law; 6 (ii) disclosures necessary to facilitate payment of a health care 7 claim; 8 (iii) disclosures necessary to ensure that a provider is in compliance 9 with applicable quality of care, licensure or accreditation standards; 10 and 11 (iv) disclosures strictly necessary to fill a prescription or provide 12 a service. 13 (c) The department shall establish phase-in periods for health care 14 providers to implement the requirements of this subdivision, taking into 15 account the technical feasibility of implementing restrictions among 16 various sectors, including (i) small health care providers; and (ii) 17 health care providers in sectors that do not typically utilize certified 18 health information technology, as well as the time it takes for the 19 health information systems or electronic health record systems to devel- 20 op and implement the capacity to segment health records. 21 (d) The department shall provide guidance to health care providers, 22 including model notices health care providers may use to notify quali- 23 fied persons to permit them to exercise their rights under this subdivi- 24 sion. Such guidance shall recommend more prominent notices and means 25 for a qualified person to exercise their rights in health care settings 26 where sensitive information is frequently generated as part of patients' 27 health care records. 28 3. Authorization for a health care provider's disclosure of patient 29 information. Notwithstanding section eighteen of this title and subdivi- 30 sion twenty-three of section sixty-five hundred thirty of the education 31 law, if a health care provider has provided actual notice to a qualified 32 person of such person's right to restrict disclosures of patient infor- 33 mation in accordance with the requirements of subdivision two of this 34 section and abides by a qualified person's request to restrict disclo- 35 sures, no authorization shall be required for such health care provider 36 to disclose a patient's other patient information unless authorization 37 is required by this section or section twenty-five of this title, arti- 38 cle twenty-seven-F of this chapter, the provisions of section seventeen 39 of this title relating to prohibiting the release to an infant patient's 40 parent or guardian of information related to the treatment of such 41 infant patient for venereal disease or the performance of an abortion 42 operation upon such infant patient, section 33.13 of the mental hygiene 43 law, section seventy-nine-l of the civil rights law, section three 44 hundred ninety-four-e of the general business law, 42 CFR part 2, HIPAA, 45 or other relevant federal, state, or local laws. 46 4. Authorization for a health care provider's request for patient 47 information. Notwithstanding section eighteen of this title and subdivi- 48 sion twenty-three of section sixty-five hundred thirty of the education 49 law, if a health care provider provides actual notice to qualified 50 persons that it makes routine requests for patient information from 51 other individuals or entities, no authorization shall be required to 52 make a request for patient information unless authorization is required 53 by this section or section twenty-five of this title, article 54 twenty-seven-F of this chapter, the provisions of section seventeen of 55 this title relating to prohibiting the release to an infant patient's 56 parent or guardian of information related to the treatment of suchS. 1633 7 1 infant patient for venereal disease or the performance of an abortion 2 operation upon such infant patient, section 33.13 of the mental hygiene 3 law, section seventy-nine-l of the civil rights law, section three 4 hundred ninety-four-e of the general business law, 42 CFR part 2, HIPAA, 5 or other relevant federal, state, or local laws. 6 5. Disclosure of de-identified patient information. Nothing in this 7 section shall prohibit a health care provider's disclosure of de-identi- 8 fied patient information for the purposes of quality assurance or 9 improvement activities, clinical trials or research. For purposes of 10 this section, "de-identified" means that the information cannot identify 11 or be made to identify or be associated with a particular individual, 12 directly or indirectly and is subject to technical safeguards and poli- 13 cies and procedures that prevent re-identification, whether inten- 14 tionally or unintentionally, of any individual. 15 § 2. Severability. If any provision of this act, or any application of 16 any provision of this act, is held to be invalid, or ruled to violate or 17 be inconsistent with any applicable federal law or regulation, that 18 shall not affect the validity or effectiveness of any other provision of 19 this act, or of any other application of any provision of this act. It 20 is hereby declared to be the intent of the legislature that this act 21 would have been enacted even if such invalid provisions had not been 22 included herein. 23 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
