Health committee advances a package of bills on managed care, school-based clinics, lead levels and more

The Senate Health Committee advanced a slate of public-health bills on March 4, 2025, voting to move measures on managed long-term care reporting, school-based health centers, psychotropic medication use in nursing and adult care facilities, blood lead-level definitions, and municipal public-health reimbursement among other items.

Committee action moved most bills to first reading or to specialized committees for further review; several were referred to Finance or Aging depending on subject matter.

The package included a mix of technical changes, program clarifications and policy proposals affecting Medicaid payment rules, oversight for long-term managed care, and public-health program funding in New York City. Several sponsors used the committee floor to underline constituent impacts and to press for future legislative steps.

Senate Bill 707 (sponsor identified in the record as Senator May) would expand and change reporting requirements under the Public Health Law for managed long-term care plans and make those reports annual rather than biennial. Senator May said the reporting change “would actually give us a lot more information on some of the constraints,” and added, “I have a lot of concerns about managed long term care plans as many folks know… Spoiler alert: we don't make them or want them.” The committee moved the bill to first reading.

Senate Bill 1224, a measure to require coverage for services provided by school-based health centers under medical assistance, prompted extended comment from members concerned about an administrative decision to switch those centers into managed care. The sponsor described a plan by the administration to shift school-based health centers to managed care by April 1 and said some centers warned they could not continue under that change; the sponsor proposed the bill to preserve fee-for-service payment for those centers. Senator Gallagher urged the majority to pursue a veto override if necessary; the committee moved the bill to first reading.

Senate Bill 893 (sponsor: Senator Sapulveda) would amend the Public Health Law on the use of psychotropic medications in nursing homes and adult care facilities to clarify informed-consent parameters and narrow application to antipsychotics; the committee referred the bill to the Aging Committee.

Other bills advanced with little floor debate but with sponsor explanations: a measure to require periodic reviews and greater transparency in Medicaid technology assessments related to the Medicaid Evidence Based Benefit Review Advisory Committee; a bill to establish a Rare Disease Advisory Council; a bill to fund abortion services and travel expenses for qualifying active-duty military members and dependents (referred to Finance); a bill to prohibit use of the term “excited delirium” as a diagnosis or cause of death; a bill to lower the threshold for elevated blood lead levels; and legislation to ban ‘‘pay-for-delay’’ agreements that delay generic entry to the market. Many of those measures were moved and carried by voice vote with no recorded opposition noted on the committee floor.

Senator Gruber (as recorded) described the proposal to prohibit use of “excited delirium” as a non‑scientific, nonspecific term and cited professional organizations' criticisms: “it's actually a non scientific term,” the senator said, and referenced American Psychological Association and American Medical Association statements questioning the term's scientific validity and its use in custodial deaths.

The committee also advanced a bill to restore State aid reimbursement rates for certain municipal public‑health services in New York City to pre‑2019 levels. The sponsor described the earlier reduction in the percentage of state reimbursement for Article 6 public‑health programs—family health, communicable disease control, chronic disease prevention, environmental health and public‑health emergency preparedness—and said the bill would return the City of New York to the previous reimbursement share; the measure was referred to Finance.

Votes at a glance - SB 707 (Public Health Law: managed long-term care reporting) — moved to first reading; sponsor: Senator May; committee action: approved to move forward. - SB 893 (Public Health Law: psychotropic medication use in nursing homes/adult care) — referred to Aging; sponsor: Senator Sapulveda. - SB 1224 (Social Services Law: school-based health center coverage under medical assistance) — moved to first reading; sponsor: listed in record as the bill’s sponsor (identified on the transcript as the presenter). - SB 1225 (Medicaid technology assessment/EBAC transparency and periodic review) — moved to first reading; sponsor: listed in the record as the presenter. - SB 1287A (Public Health Law: Rare Disease Advisory Council) — moved to post reading; sponsor: Senator Persaud. - SB 1571A (Public Health Law: funding for abortion services and travel for qualifying active-duty service members/dependents) — referred to Finance; sponsor: Senator Krueger. - SB 1714 (multiple statutes: prohibit use of term “excited delirium” as diagnosis/label/cause of death) — moved to first reading; sponsor: Senator Brooke; committee discussion included medical‑organization citations. - SB 1816 (Public Health Law: definition of elevated blood lead levels) — moved to first reading; sponsor: Senator Fernandez; discussion referenced lowering the threshold to 3.5 micrograms per deciliter in line with CDC guidance described by the sponsor. - SB 1963 (Public Health Law: retail clinics regulation) — moved to first reading; sponsor: listed in the transcript as the presenter. - SB 2400 (Public Health Law: establish Blood Clot and Pulmonary Embolism Policy Work Group) — moved to first reading; sponsor: Senator Persaud. - SB 3184 (Social Services Law: allow certain adult care facilities to arrange limited nursing services for short‑term situations) — moved to first reading; sponsor: listed in the transcript as the presenter. - SB 3203 (Public Health Law: ban pay‑for‑delay agreements to preserve access to affordable drugs) — referred to Finance; sponsor: listed in the transcript as the presenter. - SB 3361 (Social Services Law: medical evaluations for assisted‑living eligibility; expand eligible evaluators) — moved to first reading; sponsor: listed in the transcript as the presenter. - SB 3437 (Public Health Law: establishment or expansion of for‑profit hospice capacity) — moved to first reading; sponsor: Senator Krueger. - SB 3765 (Public Health Law: foreign adoptions and issuance of New York birth certificates for international adoptees) — moved to first reading; sponsor: Senator Thomas Segal (identified in the transcript as the presenter); committee discussion noted concerns about timing and age limits when adoptions finalize after adoptees turn 18. - SB 4801 (Public Health Law: state aid reimbursement for public‑health services provided by a municipality in the City of New York—Article 6 programs) — referred to Finance; sponsor identified in the record as the presenter.

Discussion, directions and next steps Committee members generally moved bills by voice vote and sent measures to first reading or to subject committees (Aging, Finance) for further consideration. A handful of bills prompted substantive floor remarks about potential on‑the‑ground effects: the managed‑care reporting measure (SB 707) and the school‑based health‑center coverage bill (SB 1224) drew the most extended commentary from sponsors and colleagues on program continuity and access to care. Several sponsors asked that language and definitions (for example, residency for benefit eligibility and time limits related to birth‑certificate requests in the foreign‑adoption bill) be clarified as the bills proceed.

No committee roll‑call tallies were provided in the transcript; actions were recorded as moved, seconded and carried on voice votes or referred to the committees indicated on the floor record.

The measures will appear on the Senate calendar or proceed to the specified committees for further hearings, amendment or fiscal review.