NYC Gazette

The New York Assembly has passed two bills aimed at enhancing protections for healthcare providers and ensuring access to reproductive care. The announcement was made by Speaker Carl Heastie on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

“Healthcare decisions should always remain between a woman and her doctor,” said Speaker Heastie. “This legislation allows New York to remain a beacon of hope for women seeking access to care and the doctors who provide it. The Assembly Majority remains committed to fighting for a future where women can access the care they need without fear.”

One of the bills, A.2145-A sponsored by Assemblymember Karines Reyes, focuses on increasing privacy protections for doctors prescribing medications by replacing the prescriber’s name with that of the practice. This change aims to allow New York prescribers to offer care to out-of-state patients without fearing legal repercussions.

“There should be no reason that medical professionals face legal consequences for providing care to their patients,” stated Assemblymember Reyes. “As a medical professional myself, I understand the duty to provide adequate care to all patients and I’m honored that this bill will provide further protections to New York’s talented healthcare workers.”

Another piece of legislation, A.2141-A sponsored by Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal, addresses additional protections for electronic health information stored on devices such as cellphones and smartwatches or collected via internet activities like purchases or search history. This bill covers data not already protected under HIPAA related specifically to reproductive healthcare.

“Today we take a monumental step forward in the fight for stronger health data privacy protections in New York State,” said Assemblymember Rosenthal. She highlighted concerns about tech companies handling personal health data: “For far too long, the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and countless powerful tech entities sold and bartered New Yorkers’ health data with impunity.” With this legislation's passage, she noted that individuals would have better control over their private health information against potential misuse by large corporations.

Speaker Heastie expressed gratitude towards those involved in advancing these legislative efforts.