On January 9th, Governor Kathy Hochul delivered her State of the State speech outlining her policy agenda for the 2024 Legislative Session. The accompanying State of the State Book, entitled “Our New York, Our Future,” describes the Governor’s proposed agenda across 19 sections. Some of the most notable health care-related proposals include:
- Certificate of Need (CON) reforms, including increasing the monetary thresholds for higher review tiers;
- Development of a Paramedic Telemedicine Urgent Care program in rural areas;
- Creation of a new, streamlined designation process for Children and Family Treatment and Support Services (CFTSS);
- Creating a total of 200 new or renovated psychiatric inpatient beds;
- Strengthening mental health parity enforcement and fines;
- Promulgating new network adequacy regulations for Medicaid and commercial insurers to set standards for behavioral health access, including limits on appointment wait times;
- Introducing legislation to require commercial plans to reimburse Article 31 and 32 clinics at the Medicaid rate, at minimum;
- Increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates for mental health services at Article 28 clinics and private practices;
- Introducing legislation to eliminate co-pays for insulin for all regulated insurance plans;
- Expanding New York’s Paid Family Leave program to cover 40 hours of additional paid leave for prenatal medical appointments; and
- Creating “Empire AI,” a consortium of research institutions to promote New York’s leadership in the field of AI, which will be funded by $400 million in public and private investments.
Other sections of the State of the State outline the Governor’s plans for housing development, public safety, consumer protections, education, child care, and governmental operations. Further details, including legislative language for proposals that require funding appropriations, will be included in the Governor’s upcoming Executive Budget and Financial Plan, which will be released next week.
SPG’s summary of the State of the State health care provisions is available here. The full State of the State book is available here.