New York Senate Bill S06895

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/26/25
• Refer: 3/26/25

Caption

Relates to cost sharing requirements for high deductible health plans and health savings accounts.

Summary

This bill amends the New York Insurance Law to address how cost-sharing requirements interact with high deductible health plans (HDHPs) that are paired with health reimbursement accounts (HRAs) or health savings accounts (HSAs). It adds parallel provisions to the individual, group, and nonprofit health insurance sections of the law so that, when a plan’s cost-sharing design would otherwise make the plan ineligible for HSA treatment under section 223 of the Internal Revenue Code, those cost-sharing requirements must be applied only after the enrollee has met the federal minimum deductible. The bill preserves an exception for preventive care, which may still be covered before the deductible is met. In practical terms, the bill is intended to align state insurance rules with federal HSA qualification rules and to protect the tax-advantaged status of HSA-qualified HDHPs. It would affect insurers offering these plans in New York, as well as employers and enrollees who rely on HSAs or HRAs. The measure takes effect immediately upon enactment.

Impact

The bill would amend Insurance Law sections 3216, 3221, and 4303 by adding new subsections governing HDHP cost-sharing. Its main legal effect is to require that, for HSA-qualified high deductible plans, cost-sharing cannot be imposed in a way that causes the plan to lose HSA eligibility under federal law, except for preventive services. This would standardize plan design requirements across individual, group, and nonprofit health insurance markets in New York and could require insurers to revise benefit structures to preserve HSA compatibility.

Sentiment

The available legislative history suggests a generally favorable and noncontroversial posture toward the bill. It was introduced, reported favorably from committee, and advanced through the Senate process without any recorded votes or committee debate in the materials provided. The absence of opposition in the record, combined with favorable committee action, indicates support for the bill’s technical alignment of state insurance law with federal HSA rules.

Contention

No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials, and no committee transcript or vote record is available to show disagreement. Potential areas of concern, based on the bill’s subject matter, would likely involve insurers and plan sponsors adjusting deductible and cost-sharing designs to maintain HSA eligibility, but those concerns are not reflected in the record here. The bill’s preventive-care exception is explicit and appears designed to avoid limiting existing coverage practices.