Removes the requirement that consent for the payment of certain medical services must occur after such services are administered; requires the superintendent of financial services and the commissioner of health to develop a uniform form for consent for payment; provides that any non-conforming form shall be prohibited and unenforceable.
Summary
S06375, the “No Blank Checks for Medical Debt Act,” amends New York Public Health Law section 18-c to change how patients consent to pay for health care services. The bill keeps the existing rule that consent to treatment must be separate from consent to pay, but it removes the requirement that payment consent for non-emergency services occur only after the patient receives the services and discusses them. Instead, it requires written documentation of anticipated treatment costs and any known cost-sharing obligations before payment consent is given.
The bill also directs the superintendent of financial services, in conjunction with the commissioner of health, to create a uniform patient liability form for payment consent. That standardized form must bar language that makes patients agree to unlimited or unspecified financial liability beyond a good-faith estimate of maximum total cost, and any form not signed by the patient or legal representative would be prohibited and unenforceable. The bill further defines consent to exclude hidden or manipulative interface design and makes clear that consent cannot be inferred from inaction.
Impact
This bill would amend state health and consumer-protection rules governing patient financial responsibility for medical care, especially non-emergency services. It would impose a standardized disclosure framework for medical billing consent, limit the enforceability of nonconforming payment forms, and require clearer upfront cost information before patients agree to pay. The measure would affect health care providers, hospitals, patients, insurers, and the state agencies responsible for health and financial services oversight.
Sentiment
The available context suggests the bill is framed positively as a patient-protection and medical debt transparency measure, with no recorded committee debate or votes indicating opposition in the provided materials. Its title and structure reflect a policy goal of preventing surprise medical bills and limiting open-ended liability, which generally signals support for consumer safeguards. Because no transcripts or vote history are included, there is no documented split in sentiment in the supplied record.
Contention
The main policy tension appears to be between stronger patient protections and provider flexibility in obtaining payment agreements. Potential points of contention include the requirement for a state-developed uniform form, the prohibition on unlimited or unspecified liability language, and the rule that nonconforming forms are unenforceable. Providers and billing entities may view these requirements as burdensome or restrictive, while patient advocates are likely to support them as necessary to prevent coercive or unclear medical debt obligations.
Same As
Removes the requirement that consent for the payment of certain medical services must occur after such services are administered; requires the superintendent of financial services and the commissioner of health to develop a uniform form for consent for payment.
Removes the requirement that consent for the payment of certain medical services must occur after such services are administered; requires the superintendent of financial services and the commissioner of health to develop a uniform form for consent for payment.
Requires certain stores that accept credit or debit card payment to accept flexible benefit cards as a form of payment for eligible items; defines terms; establishes penalties for violations of such requirement to accept payment by flexible benefit card; requires the superintendent of financial services to provide education and outreach to covered stored to inform them of the such requirement.
Maintaining Innovation and Safe Technologies ActThis bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to issue guidance on payment requirements for certain remote monitoring devices (e.g., glucose monitors) under Medicare medical services. Specifically, the CMS must issue guidance on payment requirements for devices that use artificial intelligence components and that transmit information to health care providers.
To Prohibit Healthcare Insurers From Exercising Recoupment For Payment Of Healthcare Services More Than One Year After The Payment For Healthcare Services Was Made.
Increases the amount of years of military service credit a member may purchase from three years to four years; provides that the provisions of such act shall not be subject to the requirement that the state shall make an equal payment to the retirement system.
Increases the amount of years of military service credit a member may purchase from three years to four years; provides that the provisions of such act shall not be subject to the requirement that the state shall make an equal payment to the retirement system.
Exempts multi-service health clubs from the provisions stating that no contract for services shall require payment by the person receiving service or the use of the facilities in a total amount of three thousand six hundred dollars per annum.
Exempts multi-service health clubs from the provisions stating that no contract for services shall require payment by the person receiving service or the use of the facilities in a total amount of three thousand six hundred dollars per annum.
Kids' Access to Primary Care Act of 2025This bill modifies payments for Medicaid primary care services. Specifically, the bill applies a Medicare payment rate floor to Medicaid primary care services that are provided after the date of enactment of the bill and extends the payment rate to additional types of practitioners (e.g., obstetricians).The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must conduct a study on the number of children enrolled in Medicaid, the number of providers receiving payment for primary care services, and associated payment rates before and after the bill's implementation.
Requires all motor vehicle insurers to file annual detailed financial and claim data statements with the superintendent of financial services; provides that all such statements shall be made available to the public.