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A09655 Summary:

BILL NOA09655
 
SAME ASSAME AS S08837
 
SPONSORPaulin
 
COSPNSR
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd §2999-ii, Pub Health L
 
Amends the definition of "health care personnel" to define the term "temporary services" as health care services contracted for an initial term of less than twenty-four continuous months.
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A09655 Actions:

BILL NOA09655
 
03/27/2024referred to health
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A09655 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A9655
 
SPONSOR: Paulin
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public health law, in relation to temporary services provided by "health care personnel"   PURPOSE OF BILL: To clarify the use of temporary services within the definition of healthcare workforce personnel used in the context of the temporary staffing registry.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF BILL: This bill amends section 2999-ii (4.) of the public health law to clari- fy within the definition of "'Health care personnel' that temporary services are intended to include health care services contracted for an initial term of less than twenty-four (24) continuous months.   JUSTIFICATION: The pandemic exacerbated the state's nursing shortage resulting in an increased reliance on the utilization of temporary nurses, which typi- cally provide for a limited contract, within a given facility. The reliance on these short-term temporary contracts for healthcare person- nel drastically increased labor costs and disrupts the continuity of care provided to patients due to the short-term nature of the travel nurse contracts. In response, the SFY 2023-24 budget enacted Article 29-K of the public health law to require the registration of temporary health care services agencies with the Department of Health and report key operational data to increase transparency into the utilization and costs of contract labor. For decades hospital and other health care have relied on the recruit- ment and retention of foreign-educated healthcare professionals as an alternative to the use of temporary nurses to address healthcare staff- ing shortages. The use of foreign trained healthcare personnel can provide longterm workforce solutions to facilities throughout New York and has proven to help to stabilize unit turnover, increase patient satisfaction, and improve safety and staff morale. Foreign-educated healthcare professionals are placed in facilities in New York, using international healthcare recruitment agencies that under Article 29 are considered temporary staffing agencies. However, the placement model used for international placements is drastically differ- ent than the traditional domestic healthcare staffing model in that a significant up-front investment is required to place foreign-educated healthcare professionals in a healthcare facility where they in return commit to work for at least 24 continuous months. Upon completion of the 24-month employment term, the individual is encouraged to become perma- nent staff at the facility where they worked, proving a long-term employment solution for the healthcare facility. To protect the significant investment made, recruitment agencies use certain contract provisions within the employment agreements with health care personnel, and in the staffing agreements with the facilities in which they are placed. These contract provisions allow for the recruit- ment agency to collect damages and be reimbursed for expenses should its health care personnel breach the employment agreement or if the health- care facility solicits the health care personnel prior to the end of the employment agreement's term. All contract provisions are agreed to well before the foreign-educated healthcare professional deploys to the United States as well as prior to them having a confirmed placement. Furthermore, the employment agreements used are subject to the approval of foreign governments and regulatory bodies. It has been reported that, due to the increased risk of doing business in New York, international recruitment agencies have redirect the pipe- lines of foreign-educated health care personnel intended for New York health care facilities and reassigned this personnel to other states where their significant investments are protected. This bill would differentiate between the short-term contracts used for domestic travel nurses and the long-term contracts used for interna- tional healthcare placements, by adding clarification of "temporary services" within the definition of health care personnel. This will reduce the reliance on temporary travel nurses that have exponentially increased costs for the healthcare system and protect the investments made when coordinating the placement of foreign education health care personnel within New York.   LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New bill   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: None.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.
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A09655 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          9655
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                     March 27, 2024
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Health
 
        AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to temporary services
          provided by "health care personnel"
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 2999-ii of the public health  law,
     2  as  added  by  section 1 of part X of chapter 57 of the laws of 2023, is
     3  amended to read as follows:
     4    4. "Health care personnel" means nurses,  certified  nurse  aides  and
     5  licensed  or  unlicensed  direct  care  staff  provided by the temporary
     6  health care services agency to provide temporary services  in  a  health
     7  care  entity. For such health care personnel, "temporary services" shall
     8  mean health care services contracted for an initial term  of  less  than
     9  twenty-four continuous months.
    10    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14854-02-4
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