STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
276--B
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 4, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, DINOWITZ, L. ROSENTHAL, STECK, BRONSON,
FAHY, CRUZ, EPSTEIN, HEVESI, JACOBSON, JACKSON, SEAWRIGHT, KELLES,
GONZALEZ-ROJAS -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. SIMON -- read once
and referred to the Committee on Health -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to providing medical
care to minors for sexually transmitted diseases without a parent's or
guardian's consent
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 2305 of the public health law, as amended by chap-
2 ter 878 of the laws of 1980, the section heading and subdivisions 1 and
3 2 as amended by section 35 of part E of chapter 56 of the laws of 2013,
4 is amended to read as follows:
5 § 2305. Sexually transmitted diseases; care and treatment by licensed
6 physician or staff physician of a hospital, physician assistant, nurse
7 practitioner, licensed midwife; prescriptions; consent by minors. 1. No
8 person, other than a licensed physician, or, in a hospital, a staff
9 physician, or a physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or licensed
10 midwife acting within their lawful scope of practice, shall diagnose,
11 treat or prescribe for a person who is infected with a sexually trans-
12 mitted disease, or who has been exposed to infection with a sexually
13 transmitted disease, or dispense or sell a drug, medicine or remedy for
14 the treatment of such person except on prescription of a duly licensed
15 physician.
16 2. (a) A licensed physician, or in a hospital, a staff physician, or a
17 physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or licensed midwife acting
18 within their lawful scope of practice, may diagnose, treat or prescribe
19 treatment for a sexually transmitted disease for a person under the age
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02224-07-3
A. 276--B 2
1 of [twenty-one] eighteen years without the consent or knowledge of the
2 parents or [guardian] guardians of said person, where such person is
3 infected with a sexually transmitted disease, or has been exposed to
4 infection with a sexually transmitted disease.
5 (b) A licensed physician, or in a hospital, a staff physician, or a
6 physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or licensed midwife acting
7 within their lawful scope of practice, may provide health care related
8 to the prevention of a sexually transmissible disease, including admin-
9 istering vaccines, to a person under the age of eighteen years without
10 the consent or knowledge of the parents or guardians of such person,
11 provided that the person has capacity to consent to the care, without
12 regard to the person's age, and the person consents.
13 (c) Any release of patient information regarding vaccines provided
14 under this section shall be consistent with sections seventeen and eigh-
15 teen of this chapter and other applicable laws and regulations.
16 (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to expand the scope of
17 practice of any individual licensed, certified or authorized under title
18 eight of the education law, nor does this section give any such individ-
19 ual the authority to act outside their scope of practice, as defined in
20 title eight of the education law.
21 3. For the purposes of this section, the term "hospital" shall mean a
22 hospital as defined in article twenty-eight of this chapter.
23 § 2. The first undesignated paragraph of section 17 of the public
24 health law, as amended by chapter 322 of the laws of 2017, is amended to
25 read as follows:
26 Upon the written request of any competent patient, parent or guardian
27 of an infant, a guardian appointed pursuant to article eighty-one of the
28 mental hygiene law, or conservator of a conservatee, an examining,
29 consulting or treating physician or hospital must release and deliver,
30 exclusive of personal notes of the said physician or hospital, copies of
31 all x-rays, medical records and test records including all laboratory
32 tests regarding that patient to any other designated physician or hospi-
33 tal provided, however, that such records concerning the care and treat-
34 ment of an infant patient for venereal disease or the performance of an
35 abortion operation upon such infant patient shall not be released or in
36 any manner be made available to the parent or guardian of such infant,
37 and provided, further, that original mammograms, rather than copies
38 thereof, shall be released and delivered. Either the physician or hospi-
39 tal incurring the expense of providing copies of x-rays, medical records
40 and test records including all laboratory tests pursuant to the
41 provisions of this section may impose a reasonable charge to be paid by
42 the person requesting the release and deliverance of such records as
43 reimbursement for such expenses, provided, however, that the physician
44 or hospital may not impose a charge for copying an original mammogram
45 when the original has been released or delivered to any competent
46 patient, parent or guardian of an infant, a guardian appointed pursuant
47 to article eighty-one of the mental hygiene law, or a conservator of a
48 conservatee and provided, further, that any charge for delivering an
49 original mammogram pursuant to this section shall not exceed the docu-
50 mented costs associated therewith. However, the reasonable charge for
51 paper copies shall not exceed seventy-five cents per page. A release of
52 records under this section shall not be denied solely because of inabil-
53 ity to pay. No charge may be imposed under this section for providing,
54 releasing, or delivering medical records or copies of medical records
55 where requested for the purpose of supporting an application, claim or
56 appeal for any government benefit or program, provided that, where a
A. 276--B 3
1 provider maintains medical records in electronic form, it shall provide
2 the copy in either electronic or paper form, as required by the govern-
3 ment benefit or program, or at the patient's request.
4 § 3. Paragraph (i) of subdivision 3 of section 18 of the public health
5 law, as added by chapter 634 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as
6 follows:
7 (i) The release of patient information shall be subject to: (i) arti-
8 cle twenty-seven-F of this chapter in the case of confidential HIV-re-
9 lated information; (ii) section seventeen of this article and sections
10 [twenty-three hundred one,] twenty-three hundred six and twenty-three
11 hundred eight of this chapter in the case of termination of a pregnancy,
12 and care and treatment for a sexually transmitted disease; (iii) article
13 thirty-three of the mental hygiene law; and (iv) any other provisions of
14 law creating special requirements relating to the release of patient
15 information, including the federal health insurance portability and
16 accountability act of 1996 and its implementing regulations.
17 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
