We Thank NY State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins for Bringing These Bills to a Vote; Assembly Sponsors Amy Paulin, Linda Rosenthal, Tony Simone, and David Weprin; and Senate Sponsors Neil Breslin and Brad Hoylman-Sigal
New York, NY—On June 28, the eve of New York City’s annual LGBTQ+ Pride Celebration, GMHC celebrated Governor Kathy Hochul signing into law four of our priority statewide bills that advance New York’s plan to end the HIV epidemic. At the signing ceremony at New York City’s LGBT community center, Gov. Hochul said she was proud to sign legislation into law that addresses inequities experienced by New Yorkers living with or affected by HIV and AIDS.
Hochul was joined by Assembly Members Linda Rosenthal and Deborah Glick. NYC Council Member and co-chair of the LGBTQ+ Caucus Erik Bottcher, State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, and State Assembly Member Tony Simone—representatives for GMHC’s political districts—also attended.
“GMHC is extremely grateful to have worked directly with bill sponsors Senator Neil Breslin and Assembly Member David Weprin to draft the bill language and pass S.8144C/A.8834B, which will prevent New Yorkers from being denied life, disability, and health insurance based solely on their use of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) to prevent HIV infection,” said Jason Cianciotto, GMHC’s Vice President of Public Policy and External Affairs. “PrEP is one of the pillars of New York’s plan to end the HIV epidemic, because it eliminates the risk of contracting HIV from sexual intercourse when taken as prescribed. That makes it critical to outlaw PrEP discrimination by insurers and the stigma it fuels. We thank the bill’s co-sponsors and Gov. Hochul for signing it into law so quickly.” GMHC also thanks Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, who championed an earlier version of this bill in prior legislative sessions.
Sponsored by State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and State Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, S.1001A/A.1619A prohibits health insurers from requiring prior authorization for most antiretroviral drugs that treat or prevent HIV. This will help to reduce treatment delays.
Also sponsored by State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, with State Assembly Member Tony Simone, S.9842/A.10461 clarifies that commercial large group and non-profit health insurers (including HMOs) may not require copayments for PrEP or PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis).
Sponsored by State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and State Assembly Member Amy Paulin, S.7809/A.8475 updates New York’s HIV testing laws to align with CDC guidance. The bill requires New Yorkers to be provided with oral or written notice stating that HIV testing is voluntary and that they can opt-out for any reason. It also requires providers to give patients information about the availability of PrEP and PEP. As a result, more New Yorkers will know their HIV status and get the treatment they need to stay healthy and prevent further spread of the virus. The bill was championed by New York State’s Ending the Epidemic (ETE) Coalition, of which GMHC is a member, to encourage HIV testing in response to data that revealed 18% of new HIV diagnoses statewide included a concurrent AIDS diagnosis, which indicates that the individuals had been living with untreated HIV for a considerable period.
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