New York Senate Bill S09563

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

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

Caption

Requires insurers to pay a licensed home care services agency for work provided by a personal care aide or a home health aide with temporary protected status or other visa status; requires the licensed home services agency to have made a good faith effort to establish the employment eligibility of personal care aide or a home health aide consistent with federal regulation and statutes.

Summary

This bill amends the Public Health Law to require insurers to pay licensed home care services agencies for authorized home care services provided by personal care aides or home health aides employed by those agencies, even when the worker has temporary protected status or another visa status under federal law. The bill applies to services delivered under contract with an insurer and is intended to ensure that payment is not denied based solely on the immigration or visa status of the aide performing the work. The bill also requires the licensed home care services agency to have made good-faith efforts to verify the worker’s employment eligibility in accordance with federal statutes and regulations. It further states that insurers may not recoup payments for home care services under this new subdivision and that payment obligations apply regardless of whether federal funds are available. The measure would take effect immediately upon enactment.

Impact

The bill would add a new subdivision to section 3614-f of the Public Health Law, creating a payment protection for licensed home care services agencies that use aides with temporary protected status or other lawful visa status. In practical terms, insurers would be required to reimburse agencies for covered home care services without later clawing back those payments on the basis of the aide’s immigration status, so long as the agency made good-faith efforts to confirm employment eligibility. The bill affects insurers, licensed home care services agencies, and personal care aides/home health aides, and it could reduce reimbursement disputes tied to federal work authorization issues.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and available context, the measure appears to be framed as a support for continuity of home care services and workforce stability in a sector that relies heavily on immigrant labor. There are no recorded committee transcripts or votes in the provided materials, so there is no documented opposition or formal support to gauge from legislative debate. The overall tone of the bill is protective and operational, aiming to preserve payment for services already authorized and delivered.

Contention

The main potential point of contention is the interaction between state payment rules and federal immigration/employment verification requirements. The bill tries to address that by requiring good-faith efforts to establish employment eligibility consistent with federal law, but it still mandates payment regardless of visa status and regardless of whether federal funds are available. Insurers may view the anti-recoupment language and mandatory payment requirement as limiting their ability to deny or recover claims, while supporters would likely argue that patients and agencies should not be penalized when care is provided by workers who are otherwise authorized to work.