NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A2661A
SPONSOR: Hyndman TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to establishing the
"Syd O. Sotillo Sickle Cell Treatment Act"
PURPOSE:
Establishes the Sickle Cell Treatment Act
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill would set forth that this act shall be known and
may be cited as the "Syd O. Sotillo Sickle Cell Treatment Act".
Section 2 amends the public health law by adding a new section 2807-aa
which mandates the Commissioner of the Department of Health to designate
Sickle cell centers for excellence and outpatient treatment centers.
Section 3 amends subdivision 8 of section 3331 of the public health law,
as added by section 7-a of part D of chapter 57 of the laws of 2018
relating to opioid exemption.
Section 4 provides the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Sickle Cell patients experience a multitude of symptoms that can range
from mild to severe. There is little to no awareness of possible ways to
manage these symptoms, which is why centers for excellence (COE), and
outpatient treatment centers are essential.
The Centers of Excellence would serve. as a hub for adults and children
alike to have access to professionals that can understand, monitor, and
provide care in the most effective way possible. The COEs would further
serve as leaders to other institutions in the treatment of SCD and would
establish the best practices that could then be used in other healthcare
facilities around the state. Outpatient hospitals would help reduce the
need of sickle cell patients to check into the emergency room for pain,
which is the traditional response of people who are suffering an SCD
pain crisis.
Patients would have access to readily available services that are desig-
nated to help specifically with SCD pain management and symptoms because
outpatient services would be available in areas where there is suffi-
cient need for the service. The reduced burden on emergency rooms, espe-
cially in times of health crisis, can help patients and doctors alike.
Pain is a major symptom of Sickle Cell disease (SCD) and one of the
principal reasons that people with SCD go to the emergency room.
Pain experienced by sickle cell patients manifests itself as abrupt and
very debilitating pain in any part of the body. Individuals diagnosed
with sickle cell can begin having pain crises as early as 6 months of
age. This legislation will allow certain sickle cell patients to easily
gain access to opioid therapy. Currently, sickle cell patients are
restricted in being treated with opioids. However, due to the debilitat-
ing pain sickle cell disease patients encounter during crisis, opioid
therapy serves to reduce the pain that patients experience. Syd Sotil-
lo, 30, of Brooklyn, New York passed away on April 20, 2012, as a result
of medical issues including sickle cell anemia. This bill is named in
memory of him.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2022 REPORTED FROM HEALTH AND COMMITTED TO SENATE FINANCE
2022 referred to assembly ways and means
2021 REFERRED TO SENATE HEALTH
2021 reported from health referred to assembly ways and means
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2661--A
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 26, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. HYNDMAN, McDONALD, AUBRY, SAYEGH, CUNNINGHAM,
EPSTEIN, LUNSFORD, SLATER, WALKER -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Health -- recommitted to the Committee on Health in
accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to establishing the
"Syd O. Sotillo Sickle Cell Treatment Act"
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "Syd O. Sotillo Sickle Cell Treatment Act".
3 § 2. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 2807-bb
4 to read as follows:
5 § 2807-bb. Sickle cell centers for excellence and outpatient treatment
6 centers. 1. Centers for sickle cell care excellence. The commissioner
7 shall designate five general hospitals or hospices under article forty
8 of this chapter, upon successful application, as centers for sickle cell
9 care excellence. The designations shall be made through an application
10 designed by the department, and based on service, staffing and other
11 criteria as developed by the commissioner. The centers of excellence
12 shall provide specialized sickle cell disease care, treatment, pallia-
13 tive care, education and related services and shall conduct specialized
14 research into the care, treatment and management of sickle cell disease.
15 Designation as a center for sickle cell care excellence shall not enti-
16 tle a center to enhanced reimbursement, but may be utilized in outreach
17 and other promotional activities. Each center for sickle cell care
18 excellence shall affiliate and cooperate with major centers of higher
19 learning, including medical colleges, and life science research insti-
20 tutes in the state. The state university shall enter into appropriate
21 legal agreements to enable this cooperation. Each center for sickle cell
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05963-03-4
A. 2661--A 2
1 care excellence shall receive two hundred thousand dollars per year from
2 the department, from amounts appropriated for that purpose, to be used
3 on sickle cell disease research.
4 2. Outpatient treatment centers. The commissioner shall designate ten
5 hospitals, distributed based on sickle cell patient population concen-
6 trations, as sickle cell outpatient treatment centers which shall
7 provide patients treatment for sickle cell disease as an outpatient.
8 Each sickle cell outpatient treatment center shall receive one hundred
9 thousand dollars per year from the department, from amounts appropriated
10 for that purpose, to be used to ensure the proper management and equip-
11 ping of the centers to care for sickle cell patients.
12 § 3. Subdivision 8 of section 3331 of the public health law, as added
13 by section 7-a of part D of chapter 57 of the laws of 2018, is amended
14 to read as follows:
15 8. No opioids shall be prescribed to a patient initiating or being
16 maintained on opioid treatment for pain which has lasted more than three
17 months or past the time of normal tissue healing, unless the medical
18 record contains a written treatment plan that follows generally accepted
19 national professional or governmental guidelines. The requirements of
20 this paragraph shall not apply in the case of patients who are being
21 treated for cancer or sickle cell disease that is not in remission, who
22 are in hospice or other end-of-life care, or whose pain is being treated
23 as part of palliative care practices.
24 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
