Bill Text: NY S04247 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides Medicaid reimbursement for interpretation services provided by hospital inpatient, outpatient and emergency department settings and in diagnostic treatment centers; provides further that time frames for notice, approval or certification of rates of payment and to the requirement of prior notice of rates of payment are suspended, deemed without any force and effect from and after February 1, 2027 for such rates effective for the period April 1, 2027 through March 31, 2028.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-03 - REFERRED TO HEALTH [S04247 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-S04247-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4247 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 3, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law and the social services law, in relation to providing Medicaid reimbursement for interpretation services provided by hospital inpatient and outpatient departments The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 2807-c of the public health law is amended by 2 adding a new subdivision 36 to read as follows: 3 36. Interpretation services. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of law, 4 rule or regulation to the contrary, the commissioner shall adjust inpa- 5 tient medical assistance rates of payment to provide reimbursement for 6 the costs associated with the provision of interpretation services for 7 patients in receipt of medical assistance who have limited English 8 proficiency. Reimbursement shall be available for the costs associated 9 with the provision of interpretation services at all locations during 10 all times that patient care is available, including but not limited to 11 health care, billing and making appointments. To be eligible for 12 reimbursement, the provision of interpretation services must be docu- 13 mented in such a manner as to enable reporting to and audit by the 14 commissioner. 15 (b) Such adjustment shall be made for discharges on and after the 16 first of April, two thousand twenty-seven. 17 (c) For purposes of this subdivision, "patients with limited English 18 proficiency" means patients whose primary language is not English and 19 who cannot speak, read, write or understand the English language at a 20 level sufficient to permit such patients to interact effectively with 21 health care providers and their staff. 22 (d) For the purposes of this subdivision, "interpretation services" 23 refers to language assistance services provided by individuals with 24 proven bilingual skills in both English and the relevant language to EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07936-01-5S. 4247 2 1 communicate information necessary for the patient to access services 2 and, in the case of interpretation services provided during the course 3 of a clinical encounter, services provided by individuals trained and 4 skilled in medical interpreting techniques, ethics and terminology. 5 § 2. Paragraph (g) of subdivision 2 of section 2807 of the public 6 health law is amended by adding a new subparagraph (iv) to read as 7 follows: 8 (iv) Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule or regulation to the 9 contrary, the commissioner shall adjust rates of payment for general 10 hospital outpatient and emergency services to provide reimbursement for 11 the costs associated with the provision of interpretation services for 12 patients in receipt of medical assistance who have limited English 13 proficiency. Such adjustment shall be made for outpatient and emergency 14 services provided on and after April first, two thousand twenty-seven. 15 Reimbursement shall be available for the costs associated with the 16 provision of interpretation services at all locations during all times 17 that patient care is available, including but not limited to health 18 care, billing and making appointments. To be eligible for reimbursement, 19 the provision of interpretation services must be documented in such a 20 manner as to enable reporting to and audit by the commissioner. For the 21 purposes of this subparagraph, "patients with limited English proficien- 22 cy" means patients whose primary language is not English and who cannot 23 speak, read, write or understand the English language at a level suffi- 24 cient to permit such patients to interact effectively with health care 25 providers and their staff. For purposes of this subdivision, "interpre- 26 tation services" refers to language assistance services provided by 27 individuals with sufficient fluency in both English and the relevant 28 language to communicate information necessary for the patient to access 29 services and, in the case of interpretation provided during the course 30 of a clinical encounter, services provided by individuals trained and 31 skilled in medical interpreting techniques, skills, ethics and terminol- 32 ogy. Hospitals must use a skilled interpreter or translation service 33 until such time as rules and regulations are promulgated by the commis- 34 sioner. After such rules and regulations are promulgated, hospitals 35 shall use individuals who meet such criteria in order to receive 36 reimbursement. No reimbursement shall be provided when a patient who 37 has been informed in their primary language of the availability of free 38 interpretation and translation services requests the use of family, 39 friends or others who are not formally trained in translation or inter- 40 pretation. 41 § 3. Section 2807 of the public health law is amended by adding a new 42 subdivision 22 to read as follows: 43 22. Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule or regulation to the 44 contrary, the commissioner shall adjust rates of payment for diagnostic 45 and treatment centers licensed pursuant to this article to provide 46 reimbursement for the costs associated with the provision of interpreta- 47 tion services for patients in receipt of medical assistance who have 48 limited English proficiency. Such adjustments shall be made for 49 services provided at diagnostic and treatment centers licensed pursuant 50 to this article on and after April first, two thousand twenty-seven. 51 Reimbursement shall be available for the costs associated with the 52 provision of interpretation services at all locations during all times 53 that patient care is available, including but not limited to health 54 care, billing and making appointments. To be eligible for reimburse- 55 ment, the provision of interpretation services must be documented in 56 such a manner as to enable reporting to and audit by the commissioner.S. 4247 3 1 For the purposes of this subdivision, "patients with limited English 2 proficiency" means patients whose primary language is not English and 3 who cannot speak, read, write or understand the English language at a 4 level sufficient to permit such patients to interact effectively with 5 health care providers and their staff. For the purposes of this subdivi- 6 sion, "interpretation services" refers to language assistance services 7 provided by individuals with sufficient fluency in both English and the 8 relevant language to communicate information necessary for the patient 9 to access services and, in the case of interpretation provided during 10 the course of a clinical encounter, services provided by individuals 11 trained and skilled in medical interpreting techniques, skills, ethics 12 and terminology. 13 § 4. Subdivision 8 of section 2807 of the public health law is amended 14 by adding a new paragraph (g) to read as follows: 15 (g) Subject to receipt of all necessary federal approvals, rates of 16 payment computed in accordance with this subdivision shall be further 17 adjusted in accordance with the provisions of subdivision twenty of this 18 section. 19 § 5. Subdivision 1 of section 368-a of the social services law is 20 amended by adding a new paragraph (aa) to read as follows: 21 (aa) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the full 22 amount expended for interpretation services provided pursuant to subdi- 23 vision thirty-six of section twenty-eight hundred seven-c of the public 24 health law, or subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (g) of subdivision two of 25 section twenty-eight hundred seven of the public health law, or subdivi- 26 sion twenty-three of section twenty-eight hundred seven of the public 27 health law, after first deducting therefrom federal funds properly 28 received or to be received on account of such expenditures. 29 § 6. Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule or regulation to the 30 contrary, the effectiveness of subdivisions 4, 7, 7-a, and 7-b of 31 section 2807 of the public health law, and section 18 of chapter 2 of 32 the laws of 1988, as they relate to time frames for notice, approval or 33 certification of rates of payment, and to the requirement of prior 34 notice of rates of payment, are hereby suspended and shall for purposes 35 of implementing the provisions of this act be deemed to have been with- 36 out any force and effect from and after February 1, 2027 for such rates 37 effective for the period April 1, 2027 through March 31, 2028. 38 § 7. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day 39 after it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, 40 amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the 41 implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be 42 made and completed on or before such effective date.
