ANA-NY Advocacy Updates

Advocacy is at the core of ANA-New York’s mission.

Through our weekly advocacy updates, we provide timely insights into the legislative and policy issues impacting nurses and healthcare across New York State.

Each week, we share key developments from Albany, including proposed legislation, budget updates, and advocacy efforts that directly affect the nursing profession and the patients we serve.

Staying informed is essential to strengthening the voice of nursing. These updates are designed to help our members understand what’s happening, why it matters, and how ANA-NY is actively advocating on their behalf.

Check back each week for the latest updates.

Eye on Albany – Week of May 25, 2026

The Senate and Assembly are passing budget extender fifteen to keep New York State functioning through Thursday, May 28. This is anticipated to be the final budget extender. It is needed to ensure that the State workers will be paid on time. As a reminder, the State Legislators have not been paid since April 1 and will be paid only once the final budget is passed.

For a budget to be considered final, there are ten bills that need to be passed. To date, three of the ten bills have been passed. The rest of the bills are expected to be voted on before Friday.

Assembly Health Committee: 

• A2140-B/S705-B (Jackson, Krueger): This bill would establish fair pricing for low-complexity, routine medical care to more closely align payment rates across ambulatory settings for selected services that are safe and appropriate to provide in all settings. This bill is new for this year. It advanced two weeks ago to the Senate Finance Committee.
• A7332-A (Wright): This bill would include doula awareness and the advantages of utilizing a doula in the Department of Health's education and outreach program. There is no Senate bill. This is the first time this bill has moved from committee.

Eye on Albany – Week of May 18, 2026

Although we still do not have a final State budget, agreement has been reached on many of the major policy and budget issues. At this point, all are hoping that the final negotiations will wrap up in the coming days and that voting will occur on final budget at some point this week, though nothing is guaranteed.

Meanwhile, work continues:

The Governor’s Office

Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed two bills to safeguard access to lifesaving vaccines for New Yorkers. The bills were introduced in March in coordination with New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie.

The first bill, A.10710/S.9599, requires that in addition to the vaccines recommended by the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice (ACIP), health insurers also cover vaccines recommended by the Commissioner of Health to the Superintendent of Financial Services, utilizing generally accepted medical standards and taking into consideration recommendations by nationally or internationally recognized scientific organizations.

The second bill, A.10711/S.9598, removes references to ACIP in the Public Health Law (relating to school immunization requirements and recommended immunization schedule for newborns), Education Law (relating to the immunizations that physicians and nurse practitioners are authorized to prescribe or order and that pharmacists are authorized to administer), and Social Services Law (relating to Medicaid coverage). The legislation would also authorize pharmacists to administer the COVID-19 immunization to children ages two to 18 under State law. Currently, pharmacists are only authorized by State law to administer the vaccine to adults.

Assembly Committees:

Assembly Health Committee:

• A11139-A (Paulin): This bill would require hospitals to obtain verbal and written informed consent from a patient or representative before including such patient's information in a general hospital facility directory. This bill was introduced in April. There is no Senate same as.

Assembly Higher Education Committee:

• A9539/S8658 (Cashman, Stec): This bill would allow out of state health care professionals to perform services at the Ironman Lake Placid 2026. The Senate bill is currently on third reading.

Senate Committees:

Senate Consumer Protection Committee:

• S4500-A/A6569-A (Fahy, Bores): This bill would enact the "consumer wheelchair repair bill of rights act" requiring manufacturers to make available certain documentation, parts, embedded software, firmware, or tools necessary for repairing equipment. The Senate passed this bill last session. The Assembly bill has not moved from the Consumer Affairs and Protection Committee.
• S8925-A/A9156-B (Ryan, Steck): This bill would prohibit the sale of products that contain 7-hydroxymitragynine at a level that exceeds 2% of total alkaloids or one milligram per serving. This bill is new for this session. The Assembly bill advanced to the Codes Committee this week.

Senate Finance Committee:

• S4850/A1158-A (Ryan, Seawright): This bill would provide that individuals may receive breast cancer screenings under an insurance plan when such individual has a second degree relative with a prior history of breast cancer. The Senate passed this bill last year. It has not moved from the Assembly Insurance Committee.
• S9275-A/A6596-C (Rivera, Rosenthal): This bill would require Medicaid to cover gender-affirming care regardless of federal funding. The bill is new for this year in the Senate. It has not moved from the Assembly Health Committee.

Senate Health Committee:

• S1965/A4774 (Rivera, Dinowitz): This bill would restore medical futility as a basis for DNR. This is the first time this session the bill has moved. The Assembly bill is in the Health Committee.
• S5454-A/A3956 (Comrie, Rosenthal): This bill would require cytomegalovirus screening for every newborn by administration of a urine polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. This is the first time this bill has moved this session. The Assembly bill is in the Health Committee.

• S8364/A8664 (Webb, McDonald): This bill would authorize pharmacists to administer reversible progestin-only contraceptive injections. The Assembly just moved this bill to the Rules Committee this week. This is the first time the bill has moved in the Senate.

Senate Insurance Committee:

• S5241/A6648 (Fernandez, Hunter): This bill would provide that certain utilization review determinations shall be made consistent with medical and scientific evidence. This is the first time this session the bill has moved. The Assembly bill is in the Insurance Committee.

Senate Internet and Technology Committee:

• S9269/A10357 (Krueger, Rosenthal): This is the health care data privacy bill. It advanced to the Assembly Codes Committee this week. The Governor vetoed this bill last year.

Senate Labor Committee:

• S9592/A9609 (Hinchey, Paulin): This bill would allow notice and proof of disability or proof of need for family leave, or proof of disability for a special cross-bow permit, from an attending nurse practitioner. The Assembly moved this bill to the Rules Committee this week. This bill is new for this year.

Senate Women’s Issues Committee:

• S7495-A/A8542-A (Persaud, Hyndman): This bill would enact the menopause awareness improvement act and create related educational programing. This is the first time this bill has moved in either house. The Assembly bill is in the Health Committee.

Eye on Albany – Week of May 11, 2026

Our grassroots advocacy campaign is underway for Nurses’ Week. We have received the Proclamation of Nurses’ Month from Governor Hochul. Jeanine and Amy will be meeting with Assemblymember Lavine’s staff to talk about workplace violence issues this week.  An Op-Ed is being sent from Assemblymember Karines Reyes, RN, Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forest, RN, and President Connie Perkins, PhD, RN, CNE in support of A5208-A/S2278-A, which would require hospitals to have a registered professional nurse as a sitting and voting member of the governing entity responsible for developing a hospital’s strategic plan, structure, systems, policies, and programs. 

This afternoon, the Senate and Assembly will pass budget extender eleven to keep New York State government functioning through Thursday, May 14. 

While the general budget agreement was announced last week, it was on the high-level issues only and the negotiations over the other budget priorities continue. We still don’t have final agreement in many areas. The goal is to have negotiations locked down by Thursday so voting on the budget bills can begin, but we may need another extender depending on how those negotiations proceed. 

In committees this week: 

Assembly Consumer Affairs and Protection Committee: 

• A9156-B/S8925-A (Steck, Ryan): This bill would prohibit the sale of products that contain 7-hydroxymitragynine at a level that exceeds 2% of total alkaloids or one milligram per serving. This bill is new for this year. The Senate bill is in the Consumer Protection Committee.   

Assembly Health Committee: 

• A860/S845 (Rosenthal, Salazar): This is the bill that would prohibit drug, cannabis or alcohol testing and screening of pregnant or postpartum individuals and newborns unless the individual consents and it is within the scope of medical care, or the testing or screening is necessary for a medical emergency. It is also on agenda this week in the Senate. The Senate advanced this bill to third reading last year. This is the first time this session it has moved in the Assembly. 

• A4018-A: This bill would provide an additional grant to any workers that worked at a SUNY hospital during COVID. 

Assembly Higher Education Committee: 

• A1942/S3822 (Paulin, Rivera): This is the bill to make conforming changes reflecting the previously authorized scope of practice of nurse practitioners. The Senate just advanced the bill to third reading last week. It ended last year on third reading in the Senate. This is the first time the bill has moved in the Assembly this session. 

• A8664/S8364 (McDonald, Webb): This bill would provide that no pharmacist shall administer reversible progestin-only contraceptive injections without receiving training satisfactory to the commissioner of education and the commissioner of health. This bill is new for this session. It ended last year in the Assembly Rules Committee. It has not moved from the Senate Higher Education Committee. 

  Assembly Labor Committee: 

• A9609/S9592 (Paulin, Hinchey): This bill would approve notice and proof of disability or proof of need for family leave, or proof of disability for a special crossbow permit, from an attending nurse practitioner. This bill is brand new for this year. It is currently in the Senate Labor Committee. 

Assembly Science and Technology Committee: 

• A10357/S9269 (Rosenthal, Krueger): This is the healthcare data privacy bill. It was vetoed last year by the Governor. It is currently in the Senate Internet and Technology Committee.  

Senate Cities 1 Committee:   

• S5803/A187 (Sepulveda, Cruz): This bill would require the NYC Department of Corrections and the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation to adopt safety policies to protect health care workers who treat incarcerated individuals. Last year, this bill advanced to the Senate Finance Committee. The Assembly bill is in the Cities Committee, where has remained since last year. 

Senate Finance Committee: 

• S520/A686 (Persaud, Solages): This bill would ensure that ovarian cancer survivors have the right to access screenings for health conditions. The Senate passed this bill last year. The Assembly bill has not moved from the Health Committee. 

• S8545/A9211 (Sutton, Bores): This bill would require that newborns are tested for Gaucher disease. The legislation was first introduced in the Autumn of 2025. The Assembly bill remains in the Health Committee.. 

  Senate Health Committee: 

• S705-B/A2140-B (Krueger, Jackson): This bill would set site neutral payment policy for low-complexity, routine medical care to more closely align payment rates across ambulatory settings for selected services that are safe and appropriate to provide in all settings. This is the first time this bill has moved in either house this session. The Assembly bill is in the Health Committee. 

• S3958-A/A3254-A (Skoufis, Dinowitz): This bill would require staff and children enrolled in an overnight camp, summer day camp, or travelling summer day camp to be vaccinated against a specified list of diseases. The Assembly passed this bill in April. This is the first time this session the bill has moved in the Senate. 

• S5333/A1309 (Rivera, Paulin): This is the community paramedicine bill that would authorize collaborative programs for community paramedicine services as part of the hospital-home care-physician collaboration program. The Senate advanced this bill to third reading last year. The bill has not moved from the Assembly Health Committee. 

• S6758-B/A9010-B (Fernandez, Rosenthal): This bill would require practitioners to discuss certain risks with a patient who is being prescribed a schedule II controlled substance or an opioid analgesic and require DOH to develop practitioner guidelines. This is the first time this session the bill has moved in either house. The Assembly bill is in the Health Committee. 

• S10074 (Bynoe): This bill would enact "Vincent Scheppa's law" authorizing, in certain cases, the provision of private duty nursing services to a medical assistance recipient by a relative who is a registered professional nurse. The bill was just introduced at the end of April. There is no Assembly same as. 

  Women’s Issues Committee: 

• S845/A860 (Salazar, Rosenthal): This is the bill that would prohibit drug, cannabis or alcohol testing and screening of pregnant or postpartum individuals and newborns unless the individual consents and it is within the scope of medical care, or the testing or screening is necessary for a medical emergency. This was one of the priority bills discussed during the ANA-NY lobby day. It is also on agenda in the Assembly this week. The Senate advanced this bill to third reading last year. 

• S3193-A (Persaud): This bill would direct DOH to create an informational pamphlet regarding the laparoscopic power morcellation surgery technique. The Senate passed this bill last year. There is no Assembly same as. 

• S9084/A9651 (Persaud, Solages): This bill would establish a maternal health monitoring pilot program within DOH to offer eligible participants improved maternal health care through remote patient monitoring for maternal hypertension and maternal diabetes. This bill was just introduced this year. The Assembly bill is in the Health Committee. 

Also, the following bill is on the Senate Active List for today to pass: 

• S9599/A10710 (Bailey, Dilan): This is one of the bills that would expand which entities DOH can use when making immunization administration regulations. It passed the Assembly in April. 

Eye on Albany – Week of May 4, 2026

State legislators are in town and working on passing their 9^th budget extender, but progress is being made in the negotiations! We anticipate that there could be the announcement of a handshake agreement on the budget at some point this week.

During our meetings last week for ANA-NY's Advocacy Day, the legislative offices requested two memorandums of support which we have written and submitted. They are for the passage of A8523/S8083, which expands the use of nurse staffing committees and the use of quality indicators to include other government operated health care facilities and the passage of A8824-A/S8334-A, which would include vaccines against SARS CoVID-2 virus on the list of vaccines which the Commissioner of Insurance must mandate for coverage by health insurance providers within the State of New York and include vaccines against SARS CoVID-2 virus on the list of what Medicaid must cover for an enrollee who receives this vaccine at a pharmacy.   The full MOS are available on our website. The committee agendas for this week include:

Senate Health Committee:

• S1634-A/A1915-B (Rivera, Paulin): This bill would require health care plans and payors to have a minimum of 12.5% of their total expenditures on physical and mental health annually be for primary care services. The Senate passed this bill in 2025. The Assembly advanced the bill to the Ways and Means Committee last week, marking the first time this session it advanced from the Assembly Insurance Committee.
• S1917-A (Rivera): This bill would establish an emergency insulin program and corresponding emergency insulin program trust fund to facilitate emergency access to analog insulins. The bill was just amended, which is why it no longer matches the Assembly version, A4100 (Cunningham). This is the first time this bill has moved this session. The Assembly bill is in the Health Committee.
• S3184/A525 (Rivera, Solages): This bill would allow an adult home, enriched housing facility, assisted living residence or special needs assisted living residence to provide for nursing services in the facility that are not continual, either by arrangement with a provider of nursing services or by employment. Last year, the Senate advanced this bill to third reading. The Assembly advanced the bill to the Ways and Means Committee in 2025, where it currently remains.
• S3883-B/A2253-A (Hinchey, Rosenthal): This bill would allow EMTs to administer controlled substances when responding to a person with acute withdrawal symptoms. The Senate passed this bill last year. The Assembly bill has not moved from the Health Committee.
• S3964-A/A5194-B (Rivera, Reyes): This bill would require inhaler prescriptions for asthma and other chronic respiratory diseases for individuals under age nineteen be included in the statewide immunization information system. This is the first time this session this bill has moved from committee. The Assembly bill is in the Health Committee.
• S4462-B/S464-B (Mayer, Steck): This bill would establish a program for specific individuals to become complex care assistants and provide private duty nursing services to certain Medicaid enrollees. The Senate advanced this bill to the Finance Committee last year. The Assembly bill remains in the Health Committee.
• S8658/A9539 (Stec, Cashman): This bill would allow out of state health care professionals to perform services at the Ironman Lake Placid 2026. The Assembly bill is in the Higher Education Committee.

Senate Higher Education Committee:

• S3822/A1942 (Rivera, Paulin): This bill would make conforming changes with the current scope of practice for nurse practitioners, including allowing them to issue certificates to allow a student-athletes to resume athletic activity after a cardiac arrest or concussion. The Senate advanced the bill to third reading last year, but it has not moved from the Assembly Higher Education Committee.
• S8369 (Stavisky): This bill would grant access to patient or client records for the Board of Professional Medical Conduct for the purpose of investigation and prosecution of professional licensing and misconduct proceedings. The Senate advanced the bill to third reading last year. There is no Assembly same as.

Senate Labor Committee: 

• S897/A10053 (Martinez, Forrest): This bill would allow nursing employees to request a sink designated for washing breast pump equipment in the room designated for nursing. This is the first time this bill is moving from committee this session. The Assembly bill is in the Labor Committee.

Eye on Albany – Week of April 27, 2026

The Senate and Assembly have passed another budget extender keeping the state running through the end of April.

The ANA-NY Board of Directors, Legislation Committee members, and the PAC Board are gathered in Albany this week for our annual advocacy day. We had three groups that met with members of the Assembly and Senate Health Committees to discuss the ANA-NY legislative priorities, which included S2278-A, sponsored by Senator Lea Webb, and A5208-A, sponsored by Assemblymember Karines Reyes, to require hospitals to have a registered professional nurse as a voting member of their governing body, and S9893, sponsored by Senator Liz Krueger and A765, sponsored by Assemblymember John McDonald, which would require a health care provider who administers an immunization to a person nineteen years of age or older to report such information to the department of health or to a regional health information organization unless such person object to the reporting, among other priorities. 

We want to thank our board and legislative committee members for taking the time to come to Albany to advocate on behalf of ANA-NY and these important issues. For those who would like to add their voice to our support of these issues, be on the lookout for a call to action from Voter Voice with information on how to contact your elected officials regarding your support of these important issues during National Nurses Week.

Committee agenda items for this week:

Assembly Health Committee:

• A2613-A (Lunsford): This bill would provide additional protections for sensitive health information and requires patients to have the right to restrict the disclosures of such patient's health information. This is one of Planned Parenthood’s top legislative priorities for the year. The bill was recently amended, so it does not match the Senate version (S1633-A, Fernandez). The Senate passed the bill in January and recalled the bill from the Assembly to amend it and repass it today. The Senate advanced the bill to third reading last year, but this is the first time it has moved in the Assembly.
• A10736/S9388 (Simon, Rivera): This bill would require public notice and public engagement when a general hospital seeks to close entirely or a unit that provides maternity, mental health or substance use care. The bill passed the Senate last month. This bill was vetoed by the Governor last year.

Assembly Insurance Committee:

• A1915-A/S1634-A (Paulin, Rivera): This bill would require health care plans and payors to have a minimum of 12.5% of their total expenditures on physical and mental health annually be for primary care services. The Senate passed this bill in 2025, but it is currently in the Health Committee in that house. This is the first time the bill has moved this session from the Assembly Insurance Committee.

Eye on Albany – Week of April 20, 2026

The Senate and Assembly have passed another budget extender. Meanwhile, committees are going to be very busy this week with the following items on their agenda (these are just the items that ANA-NY is following!):

Assembly Health Committee:

• A765/S9893 (McDonald, Krueger): This is the adult vaccination reporting requirement bill! This is the first time this bill has advanced in either house this session. The Senate bill is currently in the Health Committee.  
• A2078/S5724 (Paulin, Skoufis): This bill would require the immunization of certain post-secondary students against hepatitis B. This bill did not move in either house last year. It is currently in the Senate Health Committee.
• A3254-A (Dinowitz): This bill would require staff and children enrolled in an overnight, children's non-regulated, summer day, or travelling camp to be vaccinated.  This bill did not move in the Assembly last year. The Assembly bill was just amended, so it no longer matches the Senate bill (S3958, Skoufis), which is in the Health Committee and did not move from there last year.
• A8849-B/S9401-A (McDonald, Rivera): This bill would require DOH to facilitate the exchange of data between the state prescription drug program and electronic health records. The bill is also on agenda in the Senate this week. This is the first time this bill has moved in either house.
• A9140/S9604 (Rosenthal, Hinchey): This bill would provide liability protections for health care providers who issue vaccines so long as such vaccination does not arise out of willful misconduct or gross negligence. This is the first time this bill has moved in either house. The Senate bill is currently in the Health Committee.
• A10711/S9598 (Paulin, Stavisky): This bill is a program bill from the Governor. It would remove requirements for vaccines to be administered under federal guidance and instead link them to using the generally accepted medical standards and based on recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Physicians, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and/or other similar nationally or internationally recognized scientific organizations. This bill was just introduced last month. It is currently on third reading in the Senate.

Assembly Insurance Committee: 

• A10710/S9599 (Dilan, Bailey): This is another Governor’s program bill that would include the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Physicians and/or other similar nationally or internationally recognized scientific organizations in the establishment of immunization administration regulations. This bill was just introduced last month. It is currently on third reading in the Senate.

Senate Codes Committee: 

• S2398/A5123 (Persaud, Solages): This bill would require genetic testing results only be received by patients and health care providers providing direct care while health insurance companies only receive a record that the genetic testing was performed. The Senate passed this bill last year. The Assembly bill has not moved from the Governmental Operations Committee.

Senate Health Committee:

• S2633-A (Gonzalez): This bill would direct DOH to complete a report of the impact of hospital closures on healthcare access in the state. The Senate passed this bill last year, but there has never been a matching Assembly bill.
• S3822/A1942 (Rivera, Paulin): This is the nurse practitioner scope clean up bill. Last year, it advanced to third reading in the Senate. It has not moved from the Assembly Higher Education Committee.
• S3838-A/A5316-A (Hinchey, Reyes): This bill would require medical records to be made available to patients in an electronic format through a web portal and in a format that allows patients to save records to their own device. The Senate passed this legislation last year. The Assembly bill has not moved from the Health Committee.
• S9401-A/A8849-B (Rivera, McDonald): This bill would require DOH to facilitate the exchange of data between the state prescription drug program and electronic health records. This is the first time this bill has moved in either house. It is currently in the Assembly Health Committee.
• S9651/A3789 (Rivera, Weprin): This bill would amend prior authorization and utilization review procedures imposed by insurance companies. The Senate advanced this bill to third reading last year. The Assembly bill has not moved from the Insurance Committee.

Senate Insurance Committee:

• S5263 (Ashby, Bores): This bill would provide that coverage for outpatient diagnosis and treatment of substance use disorder shall not be subject to preauthorization. Last year, the Senate advanced the bill to third reading. The Assembly bill has not moved from the Insurance Committee.

Additionally, the Senate has the following on the Senate Active List for 4/20: 

• S5340-C/A5460-D (Stavisky, Paulin): This bill would allow medical assistants to administer vaccines while under appropriate supervision of a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant. The Senate passed the bill already this session but recalled it to amend it to match the Assembly bill. The Assembly bill has not moved from the Higher Education Committee.

Eye on Albany – Week of April 13, 2026

The Senate and Assembly returned to Albany on 4/7/26 and passed another budget extender. This extender will keep New York State Government functioning through this Tuesday, April 14.

Both houses returned for session on Monday, April 13. Negotiations towards a final budget are still occurring, but by all accounts, we are still not close to a final budget deal and will likely be looking at another extender. There are several major issues that are still being negotiated that include protections for immigrants in New York, potentially increasing the income tax on high earners in New York, changes related to New York’s climate change law, and changes to New York’s automobile insurance rules and regulations. While conversations are continuing on all of these issues, no final deals have been reached on any of them and all sides have stated that they would rather take their time on these issues and arrive at a good final budget deal regardless of timing. 

As there was no deal in place by the April 1 deadline, all State lawmakers are currently not being paid. The lawmakers will not be paid until a final budget deal is in place. The hope for all involved is that a budget deal is reached by late April but only time will tell.

Eye on Albany – Week of April 6, 2026

New York State did not meet the April 1 deadline for an on-time budget. Lawmakers passed a budget extender to keep the state operating through Tuesday, April 7. Although the Legislature had been scheduled for a two-week recess until April 20, both houses will now return to continue budget negotiations and vote on either a final agreement or an additional extender.

It is important to note that, unlike the federal government, if New York State government were to shut down, state legislators would not receive pay.

ANA-New York, in alignment with recommendations from the Climate and Health Special Interest Group and the Legislative Committee, has signed on with the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments and other organizations in support of legislation aimed at reducing exposure to harmful chemicals.

This includes:

• A.7738A / S.9073A, which would ban the use of PFAS in products such as cookware, dental floss, household textiles, rugs, ski wax, paint, and children's products
• A.2054 / S.2057, which would prohibit the sale of personal care and cosmetic products containing intentionally added toxic chemicals, including PFAS, formaldehyde, asbestos, arsenic, cadmium, parabens, and benzene derivatives

These efforts reflect ANA-NY’s continued commitment to advancing public health, environmental safety, and policies that protect both nurses and the communities they serve.

Eye on Albany – Week of March 30, 2026

Although the budget deadline for NY is 4/1, we are expecting a late budget this year. Items of interest currently included in the budget are: reducing the reliance on temporary staff to stabilize NY’s healthcare workforce, use of community paramedicine and hospital at home strategies, the expansion of free Community College for those exploring a nursing degree even if they have another degree, and imposing a tax on alternative nicotine products.

Committee Action Updates

The Senate Codes Committee has S2398/A5123 (Persaud, Solages) on this week’s agenda. This bill would require genetic testing results only be received by patients and health care providers providing direct care while health insurance companies only receive a record that the genetic testing was performed. This bill passed the Senate last year. It has not moved from the Assembly Governmental Operations Committee.

Other Items of Interest

ANA-NY continues to be an active member of the Let’s Get Immunized New York Coalition and is supporting the following two bills:

• Hochul Program Bill #21: Immunization Reforms to the Insurance Law: A10710 (Dilan)/S9599 (Bailey) – This bill would expand what vaccine recommendations can trigger insurance coverage to continue to allow existing reliance on recommendations from the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), while adding new authority that allows the Commissioner of Health to make recommendations to the Superintendent of Financial Services regarding immunizations that shall be covered by insurance, utilizing generally accepted medical standards and taking into consideration recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the American College of Physicians (ACP), and other nationally or internationally recognized scientific organizations. This would apply across all state-regulated, commercial insurance markets in New York.
• Hochul Program Bill #22: Immunization Reforms to the Public Health, Education & Social Services Law: A10711(Paulin)/S9598 (Stavisky) – This bill would give the NYS Health Commissioner broad authority to determine immunization requirements and standards in the following areas:
• Shifts school vaccine requirements away from federal standards to align with regulations issued by the Commissioner of Health, utilizing generally accepted medical standards including those by AAP, AAFP, ACOG, ACP, ACIP or other recognized scientific organizations.
• Amends the definition of "immunization" in Public Health law generally and specifically regarding meningococcal vaccines by removing references to federal standards, aligning the statutory definition with the new state standard-setting approach 
• Regarding standing orders for pharmacist immunization by physicians and nurse practitioners, the bill removes references requiring vaccines be recommended by ACIP and adds COVID vaccination for ages 2+
• Regarding newborn immunizations, the bill removes references to vaccine requirements having to align with ACIP and allows the schedule to be set by the DOH Commissioner
• Regarding the availability of childhood immunization guidance for the Medicaid population, the bill removes reference to requiring alignment with ACIP recommended vaccines, instead allowing guidance that is based solely on DOH recommendations