Consent to Payment in NYS

This is a hot off the presses issue and will effect health care providers in NYS. But if this catches on, it will spread nationally.

The law effects all health care providers, in respect that:

1. Consent for treatment is separate from consent for payment

2. Consent for treatment can continue to be obtained of course prior to treatment.

3. Consent for payment cannot be obtained until after treatment has been provided.

4. Credit card consent to be kept on file in case of future treatment or emergency treatment will no longer be acceptable.

If you are like me, you find 1 2 acceptable but 3 4 are totally unacceptable and need to be modifed or delted. It is totally unacceptable to have #3 as acceptable or practical. Patients should be expected to sign a consent for payment of treatment prior to it being performed. Providing medical treatment is not like paying for food at a restaurant where you pay after the meal is eaten. You are not techically paying for anything until the medical service is completed. Thus consent is simply stating you are agreeing to pay for the service once it is performed.

There are a myriad of circumstances where patients want to pay via CC and the credit card charges are denied, etc. thus the practice wants to charge the service prior to it being performed.

There is so much wrong w/this law, that it needs to be deleted and looked at again prior to being implemented.

If I were in practice in NYS today, I would simply separate the implementation of authorization for payment or assignment of benefits from the consent to treatment.

and would contact a NYS Health Care Attorney to better advise you on how to implement the actual consent for payment regulations.

The Medical Society of the State of NY and others are fighting these regulations, but it may be too llttle too late. Why were they asleep at the switch when this legislation was first put on the books and why was it allowed to be passed into law? I have no answers, other than to contact your medical association and your State representatives. Let them know the confusion this will cause in your practice and how difficult this will be to implement.

For more information see:

https://www.mwe.com/insights/ny-providers-take-note-new-consent-to-payment-laws-effective-october-20/