New York’s legislative session was scheduled to end on Thursday, June 8; however, both houses remained in session into the weekend. The Senate finished around 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 10th. The Assembly worked until Saturday at 4:30 p.m. but then adjourned without concluding their business. The Assembly returned on June 20th to wrap up remaining issues and concluded their business late in the evening of June 21. This session was limited in scope, mainly focusing on passing local bills.

The end of the 2023 legislative session was greatly impacted by the delay in passing the State budget, which was due by Saturday, April 1, but was not passed until Wednesday, May 3. This delay created a truncated end of session in Albany. Unlike in prior years, where the end of session included a flurry of legislative activity on major policy issues, the 2023 legislative session ended on a quieter note. The delay in finalizing the State budget meant that the normal eight-week end of session period was shortened to four weeks. As a result, true momentum could not be gathered for large-scale legislative priorities that we tend to see at the end of a legislative session.

Regarding NYSCA’s legislation generally, we are actively tracking nearly 200 bills that would impact Association members. 34 new bills of interest for NYSCA were introduced in 2023 alone. In the end, nine bills we are tracking passed both houses. These standalone bills are separate and apart from the legislation and initiatives included in the State budget.

Below, please find a summary of the main issues of note for NYSCA.

Budget Initiatives

• Transfer of Oversight of Licensed Healthcare Professionals
  This proposal would have moved the oversight and licensure of all healthcare professionals, including the chiropractic profession, from the State Education Department to the Department of Health. This proposal was also in the Governor’s budget last year and was ultimately removed, the same as this year. NYSCA did not take a formal position on which agency should have oversight of the professions, but we made known that whoever has oversight of the professions needs more resources and staff to meet the licensing and regulatory needs of the professions.

Bills Passed Both Houses

• Athletic Trainer Scope – S942-A (Bailey)/A219-A (Solages)
  This legislation, which NYSCA supports and has been a priority for the athletic trainers for over a decade, would update the scope of practice for athletic trainers. Importantly, this proposed scope of practice update ensures that supervision under a physician remains a priority and will allow physicians and athletic trainers to work together. NYSCA supported this legislation because New York must continue to work to review and update the scope of practice for all licensed health care professionals. All health care professionals should be able to practice to the full extent of their education and training. This is in the best interest of the patients in New York State to ensure that the have access to providers and care in a timely and appropriate manner. If signed by the Governor, it will go into effect in two years.
• Health Care Practitioner Affirmation – S2997 (Rivera)/A6065 (Dinowitz)
  This bill, which NYSCA supports, would allow health care practitioners to serve or file affirmations in court with the same force and effect as an affidavit. Further, the bill broadens who may issue such affirmations. Previously, only physicians, osteopaths, or dentists could file affirmations. This bill would change that to any health care practitioner licensed under Title 8 of the Education Law. This bill has been around for a decade and has finally passed both houses. If signed by the Governor, this bill would take effect immediately.
• Physical Therapist Education Requirements – S6220-B (Stavisky)/A6696 (Fahy)
  While we did not actively take a position on this legislation, we have been monitoring it. This legislation would require physical therapists to receive a doctoral degree in physical therapy. The bill would not impact the validity of existing licenses and permits for physical therapists. Since 2006, all New York physical therapist educational programs have required a clinical doctorate degree. This legislation updates New York law to more accurately reflect the educational standards of the profession. The bill would take effect one year after it is signed by the Governor.
• Hospital Equity and Affordability Legislation (HEAL Act) Chapter Amendment – S1330 (Gounardes)/A2205 (Cruz)
  Last year, the Legislature passed, and the Governor signed, the HEAL Act. The HEAL Act prohibits insurance companies from entering into contracts with certain anti-competitive clauses, including the most-favored-nation provisions. This bill is a negotiated chapter amendment to that legislation to expand its provisions to Article 44 Corporations and group health plan contracts. It was signed by the Governor in March.

Once a bill has been sent to the Governor, she has ten days to either sign or veto the bill. However, the Legislature has until the end of the year to transmit bills to her, which will open the ten-day window. The bills are usually sent in batches as negotiated between the Senate, Assembly and Governor, so we don’t know the exact timing of when a bill will be sent to the Governor. We will be monitoring these bills carefully and will weigh in as appropriate when the bills are sent to the Governor for her review.

Bills That Did Not Pass Both Houses

• Scope Modernization – S6047-A (Gounardes)/A4150-A (O’Donnell):
  This bill remains NYSCA’s number one legislative priority. It would update and modernize the chiropractic scope of practice. This legislation recognizes the changes in the education and training of chiropractors, while ensuring that the profession remains surgery and drug free. In the 60 years since chiropractors were recognized as a licensed profession in New York, there have been significant advances in the educational standards and training for doctors of chiropractic. This year, we secured a new Senate sponsor, as our previous sponsor, Senator James Gaughran, did not run for reelection. We also had to amend the bill this year to address some concerns raised by the Council regarding language surrounding the use of x-rays for the profession. This took up a large chunk of time during the legislation session, so while we were able to have several significant conversations on the legislation, we were delayed in having them towards the end of the legislative session. In the end, we were able to get a commitment from the Senate Higher Education Chair to convene a roundtable with other interested providers to attempt to understand where their opposition might lay. We have continued to hear that other professions, including the medical doctors, have concerns, but we have not seen these concerns directly expressed or outlined.
• Lookback Bill – S7076 (Scarcella-Spanton)/A7590 (Lavine):
  This bill is another top legislative priority of NYSCA. We drafted this legislation and secured sponsors this year. We are working with the Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY) on this legislation. This bill would limit the lookback period for health plans to initiate overpayment recovery payments from 24 months to three months. Insurance companies must pay a claim within 45 days of submission, but once that claim is paid, they may seek to recover that claim for up to two years. Insurance companies may withhold money owed to healthcare providers in an attempt to collect alleged overpayments. This bill would shorten the lookback time period to be more equitable for health care providers. The bill was introduced in May in both houses. We will be looking to advance the bill next year and identifying other health care professions that would be supportive of this legislation.
• Partnership Bill – S5581 (Scarcella-Spanton) and A715-A (People-Stokes):
  This bill, which NYSCA supports, would allow numerous health care professionals to form PLLCs and other types of professional partnerships. The professions impacted would include chiropractors, physicians, pharmacists, massage therapists, and occupational therapists. The bill would also allow for multidisciplinary service practice partnerships. Further, the bill would clarify that multidisciplinary service practice partnerships would be distinct from hospitals. The Assembly bill was amended in mid- May to add the mental health practitioners, and the Senate bill will also be similarly amended. The bill did not advance in either the Assembly or the Senate, but the coalition of providers in this legislation are already strategizing about steps for the next legislative session.
• Medicaid Pilot Program – S6101 (Harckham)/A7446 (Sayegh):
  In the 2020 – 2021 New York State budget, we were successful in securing a regional pilot program under Medicaid to promote the use of alternative treatments for individuals suffering from chronic lower back pain. When the pilot program was submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), CMS denied the pilot because it was regional and not statewide. This bill, which NYSCA supports, would amend the original provision to establish a statewide pilot program promoting the use of alternative treatments for individuals suffering from chronic lower back pain. This is the first year this bill has been introduced. The bill advanced out of the Senate Health Committee and to the Senate Finance Committee in May. The Assembly bill did not move out of the Assembly Health Committee. We will continue to support this bill next year, and we will be working with the Council to determine if this bill should be pursued as standalone legislation or if we should purse the changes contemplated in this bill through the budget process.
• Health Care Non-Discrimination Act – S6202 (Scarcella-Spanton)/A658 (Weprin):
  This legislation is a priority of the New York Chiropractic Council, which we generally support but have asked to be amended. The bill addresses deficiencies in the Insurance Law by requiring that all health care plans and contracts provide coverage for any health care service that is within the scope of practice of a licensed health care provider. Further, it provides that similar or identical health care services provided by differing health care professionals be reimbursed on a similar basis. This is the first year this legislation was introduced in the Senate though it was around in the Assembly last session. The bill did not advance out of the Senate Health Committee or the Assembly Insurance Committee.

Telehealth Regulations

• In March, the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board proposed regulations regarding telehealth for the Workers’ Compensation system. These proposed regulations would specifically exclude services rendered by chiropractors, acupuncturists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists. NYSCA, in conjunction with the New York Chiropractic Council, American Physical Therapy Association New York, and the New York State Occupational Therapy Association, sent in comments in response to these proposed regulations. The comment urged the Workers’ Compensation Board to adopt the language used in its emergency regulations relating to telehealth that were adopted in July 2021, which covered telehealth for those providers when medically appropriate. We also submitted joint comments on behalf of the profession, which outlined chiropractic specific concerns with the proposed telehealth regulations. The Workers’ Compensation Board has not finalized the regulations or proposed changes to the existing proposal. The proposed regulations are set to expire on February 29, 2024 if the Board does not act on the proposal.

Next Steps

Now that session has concluded, our focus will shift to weighing in with the Governor’s office regarding passed legislation. We will be monitoring these bills carefully and will weigh in appropriately when the bills are sent to the Governor for her review. Additionally, we will be working on strategic planning for the 2024 legislative session, as well as scheduling follow-up meetings on the scope bill and continuing to monitor regulatory action coming from the Workers’ Compensation Board and the Department of Financial Services.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please let us know