NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A8536
SPONSOR: Gottfried
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to adding a represen-
tative of women's health service providers on the public health and
health planning council
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To add a representative of women's health service providers to the
public health and health planning council.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends Public Health Law § 220 to raise the number of
appointed members of the Public Health and Health Planning Council
(PHHPC) from 24 to 25, and to require that additional member to be a
representative of women's health service providers.
Section 2 is the effective date: immediate.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
PHHPC makes decisions and recommendations to the Commissioner of Health
regarding health care facility establishment, transfer, construction,
and Services, and Health Department regulations. PHHPC currently has 24
members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the
Senate. About half of the appointed members represent specific catego-
ries, such as nursing homes, behavioral health, and insurance companies;
the other members are chosen from an extremely broad category encompass-
ing practically the entirety of health care provision and payment.
Currently, no member of PHHPC is required to have any expertise in
women's health or facilities specializing in the care of women. The
female half of the population has extensive unique health care issues
and needs. PHHPC reviews applications for health care facilities like
birth centers and reproductive health care clinics. Therefore, it is
important that at least one member represent providers of women's health
care services.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8536
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
December 13, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GOTTFRIED -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to adding a represen-
tative of women's health service providers on the public health and
health planning council
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 220 of the public health law, as amended by chapter
2 42 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 220. Public health and health planning council; appointment of
4 members. There shall continue to be in the department a public health
5 and health planning council to consist of the commissioner and [fourteen
6 members to be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of
7 the senate; provided that effective December first, two thousand ten,
8 the membership of the council shall consist of the commissioner and
9 twenty-four] twenty-five members to be appointed by the governor with
10 the advice and consent of the senate. Membership on the council shall be
11 reflective of the diversity of the state's population including, but not
12 limited to, the various geographic areas and population densities
13 throughout the state. The members shall include representatives of the
14 public health system, health care providers that comprise the state's
15 health care delivery system, individuals with expertise in the clinical
16 and administrative aspects of health care delivery, issues affecting
17 health care consumers, health planning, health care financing and
18 reimbursement, health care regulation and compliance, and public health
19 practice and at least two members shall also be members of the behav-
20 ioral health services advisory council; at least four members shall be
21 representatives of general hospitals or nursing homes; at least two
22 members shall be representatives of health care consumer advocacy organ-
23 izations which have a statewide or regional constituency and have been
24 involved in activities related to health care consumer advocacy includ-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13821-02-1
A. 8536 2
1 ing issues of interest to low- and moderate-income individuals; and at
2 least one member shall be a representative of each of the following
3 groups: women's health service providers, home care agencies, diagnostic
4 and treatment centers, health care payors, and labor organizations for
5 health care employees.
6 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.