Physician Advocacy Continues to Fix Unworkable Financial Consent Law
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This week the Assembly Health Committee unanimously advanced to the floor legislation (A.6773, Paulin) to revise the unworkable requirement enacted last year (put “on hold” by the NYS Department of Health) that requires a physician to receive a consent from a patient for payment for healthcare services AND prohibits this consent from being received before services are delivered.
MSSNY has indicated its support A6773-Support-Consents.pdf for this legislation to fix this problem. Throughout last fall, MSSNY educated various public officials that the law was completely at odds with typical medical practice workflow of patient completion of paperwork, and could prompt the shutdown of many medical practices who would be unable to obtain payment for healthcare services, particularly co-payments and deductibles that physicians are required to attempt to collect from patients. A.6773 is nearly identical to the proposal from the Executive Budget HMH L to fix this financial consent requirement that the Assembly and Senate had excluded from its one House Budget.
Physicians are urged to ask their legislators to support this measure as the final State Budget is being negotiated. Revise Requirement to Obtain Patient Consent to Bill After Services Delivered.
