Behavioral Health Parity Provisions and Compliance Fund

March 16, 2020

NYS Council members,

Amidst all of the chaos we know you are facing right now, we promise to be judicious when requesting your assistance on state budget matters.

Lawmakers are speeding towards agreement on a state budget perhaps as early as this week.  It is our understanding that some members of the NYS Assembly are not pushing to support and put forward as a priority the Governor’s executive budget proposal that does two critically important things:

1)  Strengthen DFS and DoH’s ability to enforce compliance with the state Behavioral Health Parity provisions set forth in the FY 2020 Enacted Budget through the release of the State regulations by October 2020.

2) Establish a Parity Compliance Fund (from the proceeds of enforcement of parity violations) to help fund the NYS Ombuds Program.

Please help us to compel the members of the Assembly beginning with the Chair of the Assembly Insurance Committee (Kevin Cahill) and  individual members of the Assembly Insurance Committee to make this their high priority.  Please use the script (below) to make phone calls, send emails and faxes to offices (district office as well as Albany offices) of the members you contact.

Here’s a link to the members of the NYS Assembly Insurance Committee (click on the name of the lawmaker to get to their contact information)  https://nyassembly.gov/comm/?sec=mem&id=23   (if the link isnt live just copy and paste in your browser).

THANK YOU!!!