The sponsors of a bill to allow terminally ill New Yorkers to take medication to end their lives have amended the legislation to clarify that health care providers and insurance companies would not be incentivized to authorize the medication.
One amendment of the Medical Aid in Dying Act, which would give capable individuals with less than six months to live the right to request a prescription for lethal medication, clarifies that insurers cannot deny coverage for care because a patient does or does not request the medication. The act is co-sponsored by state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, who told Crain’s the changes would ensure that the companies do not stand to benefit if a patient dies sooner.
Corinne Carey, the senior campaign director for New York and New Jersey at the Denver-based advocacy nonprofit Compassion & Choices, added that the amendments hope to assuage fears that insurance companies could use the law as an excuse to stop paying for life-saving care.
Another change, Paulin said, establishes that medical providers do not have an obligation to prescribe the medication if they’re uncomfortable doing so. Both issues are top concerns for other lawmakers still on the fence about whether they’d support the bill, she added. Additionally, the amendments expand the list of people who cannot serve as a witness to each patient’s decision to include their domestic partner, health care proxy, or anyone who has power of attorney.
Paulin said that she would need just four more Assemblymembers to approve the bill for it to pass within the legislative body, adding that she and Hoylman-Sigal are “so close” to making it a law after a nearly decade-long fight. New York’s first version of the Medical Aid in Dying Act surfaced in 2016 and Paulin has sponsored it since then. The bill has faced numerous roadblocks from other lawmakers; Paulin last failed to pass the act during the 2023 legislative session, though the majority of New Yorkers have said they would support the bill.
Carey added that the amendments do not aim to sway lawmakers who are fundamentally against the act.
“And to those people we say…Nothing changes for people who believe medical aid in dying is wrong for them,” she said.
According to Paulin, once enough lawmakers in each house have pledged their support she and Hoylman-Sigal will call for a vote on the bill.
Jacqueline Neber , 2024-04-08 11:33:04
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