Establishes the office of hospice and palliative care access and quality to provide expertise and input on hospice and palliative care policy development and regulation.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5587
SPONSOR: Wallace TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to establishing the
office of hospice and palliative care access and quality
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this legislation is to protect patient safety, improve
care and facilitate communication between the Department of Health and.
Hospices and Palliative Care providers to assure access to affordable
high-quality health services for persons with serious or life-threaten-
ing illness.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends public health law to create the office of hospice and
palliative care access and quality within the Department of Health and
requires the appointment of a director of the office. This sections
further establishes the powers and duties of the office.
Section 2 establishes the effective date:
JUSTIFICATION:
Hospice and Palliative Care providers serve an important role in our
health care system, providing care to individuals with serious and life-
limiting illnesses. They have a responsibility to provide some of New
York State's Most vulnerable individuals and their families with expert
medical care, pain management, and emotional, social, and spiritual
counseling.
Yet despite the critical role Hospice and Palliative care plays in our
health care-system, their services are severely underutilized. New York
State currently
RANKS 51ST IN THE NATION for Hospice Medicare utiliza-
tion. This underutilization results in remarkably high hospitalization
readmissions, creating additional burdens on New York State's already
overwhelmed hospital finances and resources. These longstanding issues
have only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, making the need for
Hospice and Palliative Care representation within the Department of
Health more urgent than ever.
This bill would require the DOH to establish a Director of Hospice and
Palliative Care Access and Quality within the Office of Primary Care and
Health Systems Management, who would be responsible for coordinating
with licensed Hospice and Palliative Care providers across New York
state. The director will work to remove common barriers that impede
access to Hospice and Palliative Care by coordinating policy and regu-
lations within New York's Department of Health and serving as a liaison
between the DOH and Hospice and Palliative Care providers and the indi-
viduals they serve. The director would also be responsible for increas-
ing public awareness around Hospice and Palliative Care services by
coordinating a statewide educational campaign that encourages individ-
uals to discuss end-of-life care desires with their families and health
care professionals.
Providers of Hospice and Palliative care have cited numerous examples
where the lack of coordination between these providers and DOH created
unintentional and unnecessary barriers to their services, interfered
with their ability to provide care, and increased burdens on our health
care system. By creating a director to serve as a liaison to Hospice and
Palliative care providers, New York will improve communication between
the providers and DOH, enhance Hospice and Palliative care usage,
prevent unnecessary hospital readmissions, and save resources.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-2022: A.8881A/S.8206A - Passed Assembly and Senate - Vetoed by
Governor
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
Minimal.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5587
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 16, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WALLACE -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to establishing the
office of hospice and palliative care access and quality
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 4003 to read as follows:
3 § 4003. Director of hospice and palliative care access and quality. 1.
4 The office of hospice and palliative care access and quality is hereby
5 created within the department. The commissioner shall appoint a director
6 of the office and may employ such assistants and personnel as are neces-
7 sary to carry out the provisions of this article.
8 2. The office shall have the following powers and duties:
9 (a) to provide expertise and input on hospice and palliative care
10 policy development and regulation;
11 (b) to ensure hospice and palliative care providers, workers, and
12 patients are considered when new policy or regulatory changes are
13 contemplated, developed or implemented;
14 (c) to develop recommendations to improve patient care for individuals
15 with chronic or life-limiting illnesses;
16 (d) to facilitate communication between the department and hospice and
17 palliative care providers;
18 (e) to raise awareness and access to hospice and palliative care
19 services;
20 (f) to identify and eliminate barriers to such services;
21 (g) to support models of care and service delivery that would assist
22 in increasing utilization of hospice and palliative care services;
23 (h) to work to develop and promote innovative health care delivery
24 models for hospice and palliative care services;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01248-01-3
A. 5587 2
1 (i) to establish and monitor quality and utilization metrics to
2 promote increased access to high-quality end-of-life care;
3 (j) to support community-wide efforts to promote advance care plan-
4 ning;
5 (k) to work in collaboration with the state palliative care education
6 and training council, centers for palliative care excellence, and palli-
7 ative care practitioner resource centers, to assist in providing educa-
8 tion on hospice and palliative care to state, regional, and local
9 personnel;
10 (l) to ensure equitable access to hospice and palliative care services
11 by underrepresented communities across New York state.
12 3. The commissioner, in conjunction with the director appointed pursu-
13 ant to this section, shall prepare and submit a report to the governor,
14 the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly,
15 and post such report on the department's website, by no later than two
16 years following the effective date of this act and annually thereafter,
17 outlining the activities of the office established pursuant to this
18 section, and recommendations on matters within the scope of the direc-
19 tor's duties as set forth in this section.
20 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
21 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
22 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
23 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
24 completed on or before such effective date.
