Memorandum in Support: A.5158 Dinowitz
No Fault Insurance Coverage of Emergency Treatment

The New York Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians strongly supports the passage of A.5158. This legislation would amend the insurance law by requiring that health care providers who render services necessary to stabilize and treat emergency medical conditions shall be compensated regardless of the fact that the patient may have been injured as a result of operating a motor vehicle while in an intoxicated state.

According to the National Trauma Data Bank Report of 2002, emergency departments in New York State took care of 6,419 intoxicated drivers injured in motor vehicle accidents in 2002. Under current New York State law, if a driver in an alcohol-related crash is taken to the hospital for treatment, but does not have health insurance and is unable to pay the bill for his or her services, the health care providers must absorb the cost of the treatments provided. Current law does not allow health care providers to receive compensation for their services under a person's No-Fault automobile insurance policy if the person was intoxicated.

Because current law permits an automobile insurance carrier to disclaim coverage in these instances, physicians often do not receive payment for rendering essential health care services. What's more, physicians are required by Federal law (EMTALA) to provide emergency department treatment to patients, regardless of whether the patient is intoxicated and/or insured.

Medical treatment for individuals who have been injured in a motor vehicle accident is almost always an emergency situation. This is magnified when the victim is in an intoxicated state. Physicians do not discriminate by withholding necessary health care services to any individual.

With the exorbitant cost of treating a person for injuries from alcohol-related crashes, health care providers, such as emergency physicians, can no longer bear the burden of such costs. This legislation corrects this inequity by ensuring that health care providers are not put in the untenable position of absorbing the high costs of providing treatment to these patients, but rather receive proper compensation for such treatment.

The New York Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians represents over 1,500 physicians statewide and is one of the largest indigent care providers in the state, serving all people that require emergency treatment and services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

New York ACEP strongly urges the passage of A.5158 this legislative session.