Assembly Health Committee Update:
Protecting Nursing Home Residents From Abuse of Psychotropic Drugs
The Assembly Committee on Health favorably reported 39 bills at its meetings in May. The Committee advanced legislation strengthening the “prescriber prevails” rule in Medicaid Managed Care; authorizing community paramedicine; and protecting nursing home residents from overuse of psychotropic drugs.
New York law gives patients in nursing homes the right to be fully informed of their proposed treatment, including the right to refuse treatment and be free from chemical restraint unless consistent with certain requirements. However, psychotropic drugs are being used not just to treat illness but as a form of behavioral control. The Assembly Health Committee held a hearing in February in which patients’ families, advocates, and adult care experts testified to the frequency of overuse. A.7351 (Gottfried) requires that before psychotropic drugs are ordered in a nursing home or adult care facility, the patient or their surrogate must be informed of the potential benefits and side effects; dosage and duration of the prescription; reasonable alternatives (such as therapeutic activities); and their right to refuse consent. The bill also requires written consent by the patient or surrogate.
For more information on a particular bill, please contact the sponsor listed after the description. For the text of a bill, supporting memorandum, and information on its status, go to: http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menuf.cgi .
Tuesday, May 5
Early Intervention Covered Lives Assessment – Provides funding for Early Intervention services through the “covered lives assessment” paid by health insurance companies. (A273, Paulin)
Credentialing for Group Practices – Requires insurers to expedite review of applications of health care professionals who are joining a group practice and grant provisional credentials to these professionals (A501, Cusick)
Healthy Teens Act – Establishes a Department of Health grant program for providers of age-appropriate sex education. (A1616, Gottfried)