NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10310B
SPONSOR: Paulin TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring residen-
tial health care facilities to maintain hospice agreements to ensure
access to hospice services for eligible residents
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To ensure that residents of nursing homes have meaningful, timely access
to hospice services by requiring residential health care facilities to
maintain hospice agreements and coordinate care for eligible residents.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one amends the Public Health Law, adding a new section 2808-g
to:
*Require residential health care facilities to enter into and maintain
written agreements with hospice programs licensed under Article 40;
*Establish minimum requirements for coordination of care between facili-
ties and hospice providers.
*Direct the Department of Health to provide guidance and technical
assistance, including model contract provisions and best practice recom-
mendations; and
The bill also authorizes the Department of Health to seek any necessary
federal approvals.
Section two provides for the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Although federal and state law authorize hospice services to be deliv-
ered in nursing homes, access to hospice care remains inconsistent
across New York State. Many residents with advanced or terminal illness
are denied access, experience delayed referral, unnecessary hospital
transfers, and care that is misaligned with their goals and preferences.
Hospice programs provide specialized interdisciplinary care that
improves quality of life, supports families and caregivers, and reduces
avoidable high acuity interventions. This bill helps assure that patient
choice is honored and establishes a uniform statewide expectation that
nursing homes maintain hospice agreements to support resident choice,
improve care coordination, and promote effective use of health care
resources.
By ensuring that every residential health care facility has a formal
relationship with one or more hospice providers, the bill strengthens
continuity of care, reduces unnecessary hospitalizations, and advances
equitable access to high-quality end-of-life care.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect one hundred days after it becomes law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10310--B
IN ASSEMBLY
February 20, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, HEVESI, KELLES -- read once and referred
to the Committee on Health -- committee discharged, bill amended,
ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee --
reported and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring residen-
tial health care facilities to maintain hospice agreements to ensure
access to hospice services for eligible residents
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new section
2 2808-g to read as follows:
3 § 2808-g. Residential health care facility hospice agreements. 1.
4 Each residential health care facility shall enter into and maintain one
5 or more written agreements with hospice programs licensed pursuant to
6 article forty of this chapter to ensure access to hospice services for
7 residents who are eligible for and elect the hospice benefit.
8 2. Such agreements shall provide for coordination of care between the
9 residential health care facility and the hospice program and shall, at a
10 minimum, address:
11 (a) timely hospice evaluation and referral;
12 (b) roles and responsibilities of facility staff and hospice person-
13 nel;
14 (c) interdisciplinary care planning and symptom management;
15 (d) medication management and clinical oversight;
16 (e) after-hours communication and emergency response; and
17 (f) documentation and information sharing, consistent with applicable
18 law.
19 3. The department shall provide guidance and technical assistance to
20 residential health care facilities and hospice programs to support
21 implementation of this section, including model contract provisions and
22 best practice recommendations.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14724-04-6
A. 10310--B 2
1 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundredth day after it
2 shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment
3 and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation
4 of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
5 completed on or before such effective date.
