Relates to the reporting of lyme and tick-borne disease infection after death.
Summary
S00029 would amend New York’s Public Health Law to require reporting to the Department of Health when a coroner, pathologist, medical examiner, or other qualified examiner discovers that a deceased person had Lyme disease or another tick-borne disease at the time of death, as determined by the commissioner. The report must be made promptly and in the manner prescribed by the commissioner. The bill takes effect 90 days after becoming law.
The measure is narrowly focused on post-mortem surveillance and public health data collection. It does not create a new criminal penalty or direct treatment mandate; instead, it adds a reporting obligation for death investigators and medical examiners and gives the Department of Health authority to define which tick-borne diseases are covered and how reports are submitted.
Impact
The bill would add a new section to the Public Health Law, creating a mandatory reporting requirement for deaths involving Lyme disease or other commissioner-designated tick-borne diseases. It would affect coroners, pathologists, medical examiners, and other qualified persons who examine decedents, while expanding the Department of Health’s ability to track fatal cases and monitor disease patterns. The practical impact is improved surveillance and potentially better public health response, research, and prevention efforts related to tick-borne illness.
Sentiment
The available voting history shows strong, unanimous support in the Senate Health Committee and on the Senate floor, with no recorded opposition in the votes provided. That suggests the bill was viewed favorably as a public health and data-gathering measure. No committee transcript is available, so there is no recorded debate reflecting dissent or concern.
Contention
There is little visible contention in the available record, likely because the bill is limited in scope and framed as a reporting measure rather than a substantive regulatory change. Any potential concerns would likely center on administrative burden for medical examiners and coroners, the scope of diseases covered by the commissioner, and how the reporting data would be used. However, no specific objections are documented in the provided materials.
Includes Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases as occupational diseases for purposes of workers' compensation; clarifies that disability includes disability caused by Lyme disease or other tick-borne diseases; requires insurance coverage of long term medical care for Lyme disease and other tick borne diseases.
Requires health insurers to provide coverage for long term medical care for Lyme disease and other tick borne related pathogens; provides for taxpayer gifts for tick borne illness research, detection and education; establishes the tick borne illness research, detection and education fund.
Creates the lymphedema and lymphatic diseases research grants program; provides such grants, not to exceed $50,000, would be awarded on a competitive basis to biomedical research institutions conducting direct research related to lymphedema and lymphatic disease.
Relates to establishing state disaster emergency requirements for homeless shelters including placement of individuals and families in shelters and reporting of infections related to the emergency.
Relates to establishing an office of antibiotic-resistance control; establishes the antibiotics education fund; includes methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other antibiotic-resistant infections in the definition of airborne infectious disease.
Relates to establishing an office of antibiotic-resistance control; establishes the antibiotics education fund; includes methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other antibiotic-resistant infections in the definition of airborne infectious disease.