New York State Laws Impose New Requirements for Patient Consent and Use of Credit Cards for Medical Services.
Enacted as part of New York State’s health and mental hygiene budget legislation for fiscal year 2024 through 2025, New York Public Health Law Section 18-c will become effective on October 20, 2024 to require healthcare providers to issue separate patient consent forms for treatment and for payment for services. The law also provides that “Consent to pay for any health care services by a patient shall not be given prior to the patient receiving such services and discussing treatment costs.”
The New York Department of Health has not yet issued its expected guidance on how health care providers should implement these new requirements. For example, how may health care providers collect payment if they furnish treatment before the patient agrees to pay and the patient refuses to pay any amount for the service?
The legislation also amends the NY General Business Law (“GBL”) by adding two new sections 349–g and 519–a. These provisions prohibit hospitals and health care providers from:
- Completing any portion of an application for medical financial products for the patient or otherwise arranging for or establishing an application that is not completely filled out by the patient.
- Requiring credit card pre-authorization or requiring the patient have a credit card on file prior to providing emergency or medically necessary medical services to such patient.
NY GBL § 519–a requires hospitals and health care providers to “notify all patients about the risks of paying for medical services with a credit card. Such notification shall highlight the fact that by using a credit card to pay for medical services, the patient is forgoing state and federal protections that regard medical debt. The commissioner of health shall have the authority and sole discretion to set requirements for the contents of such notices.” To comply with this requirement, healthcare providers should update their financial responsibility consent forms to state the following: “The patient understands that the use of a credit card on file and/or credit card preauthorization is a convenience that the patient is electing to utilize, is not a condition to treatment, and that by using a credit card, the patient is foregoing state and federal protections regarding medical debt.”
We will continue to monitor all legislative developments. If you have questions regarding these new requirements, please contact BPS’s Health Law attorneys, Robert Braumuller (914-287-6185 or rbraumuller@bpslaw.com) and Zaina Khoury (914-287-6187 or zkhoury@bpslaw.com)