To view New York ACEP's memo in support of this bill click here. Please act today. 

 To view New York ACEP's memo in support of this bill click here. Please act today. 

Call as many members of the Senate Insurance Committee as you can today to ask for their support of this critically important legislation. Below is a chart of Albany phone numbers for every member of the Senate Insurance Committee.

Emergency departments in New York State provided care for 6,419 intoxicated drivers injured in motor vehicle accidents in 2002.
- National Trauma Data Bank Report of 2002

To view New York ACEP's memo in support of this bill click here. Please act today. 

  View New York ACEP’s memo in support of this bill

  Please act today. Your involvement will make a difference.
 

  NYS Board of Elections District Maps & Representatives

  Enter your contact information and click on "Find."

 

Understanding the Issue:

• Current law permits an automobile insurance carrier to disclaim coverage in instances where a person is injured because he or she was driving while intoxicated. As a result, emergency physicians do not receive payment for rendering essential health care services to such patients. This inequity also makes it very difficult to get specialists to come to emergency departments to provide care to intoxicated drivers.
• Physicians are required by Federal Law (EMTALA) to provide emergency care to all patients who walk through the door, regardless of whether the patient is intoxicated, yet emergency physicians are forced to absorb the costs associated with such treatment in these cases. This is a gross inequity in the system, which would be corrected by Senate bill 3554.

  View New York ACEP’s memo in support of this bill

  NYS Board of Elections District Maps & Representatives

  Enter your contact information and click on "Find."

 

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Please act today. Your involvement will make a difference.
 

NYS Board of Elections District Maps & Representatives

Enter your contact information and click on "Find."

 

 

If you need assistance identifying your representatives, contact New York ACEP at (585) 546-5141 or by email at nyacep@nyacep.org

Letter Sample 

Dear Senator/Assembly member:
 
I am writing as an emergency physician living/working in your district to ask you to reject provisions of Governor Paterson's proposed Deficit Reduction Plan (DRP) to cut Medicaid reimbursement for emergency physicians.
 
There is no question that the State is facing enormously difficult financial times, but now is not the time to reduce funding for the emergency health care safety net. The recession has created job losses and increased numbers of uninsured individuals who seek care in hospital emergency departments (EDs). In addition, the spread of the H1N1 virus is putting a tremendous strain on the staff and resources of EDs.
 
Emergency physicians are one of the largest indigent care providers in the State, providing care 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to every patient who walks in the door, regardless of the patients' ability to pay. Over 7 million people visit New York's EDs every year. During nights, weekends and holidays, emergency departments are often the only available option for patients with concerning symptoms and injuries. The majority of services that we provide are for the treatment of high level, emergent and critical conditions.
 
Despite the fact that emergency physicians are mandated by State and Federal laws to care for every patient who enters the ED, Medicaid reimbursement is woefully inadequate to care for our patients, providing only $25 per visit. The costs for medical liability insurance, billing, overhead and standard benefits per patient vastly exceed the $25 per visit reimbursement, without taking into account compensation for patient care evaluation and treatment services.
 
New York's Medicaid rates are significantly less than those paid by Medicare for the same services and by neighboring states. This seriously undermines the practice of quality emergency medicine in New York State. It also greatly impacts New York's ability to retain practicing emergency physicians and recent graduates in emergency medicine. For instance, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) released a report card for New York in 2009, which ranked New York 36th in the nation for the number of board-certified emergency physicians to treat patients.
 
With the recession, the current pandemic outbreak of H1N1, the increased threat of terrorism, and the possibility of a natural disaster, it is particularly important for EDs to be prepared for the possibility of large-scale emergency crises. Emergency departments need more resources, not less, in these difficult times. I respectfully ask you to reject Governor Paterson's DRP proposal to cut reimbursement for emergency physicians when you return to Albany for the Special Session.
 
Sincerely, 

 

Your Name

As a result of all of New York ACEP’s grassroots and Albany-based efforts during the 2009 legislative session, the New York Assembly passed legislation (A.6843, sponsored by Assemblyman Dinowitz) to require No-Fault insurance coverage for emergency medical services provided to a patient regardless of whether he or she has been injured by driving while intoxicated.  Now, we need your help to get the Senate to pass the bill (S.3554, sponsored by Senator Breslin) which is in the Senate Rules Committee when they return to Albany for a September Special Session.

Call Switchboard # (518) 455-2800 your Senator to ask for the passage of this legislation by the Senate in September.  Please call today. You can make a difference.

• Current law permits an automobile insurance carrier to disclaim coverage in instances where a person is injured because he or she was driving while intoxicated.  As a result, physicians do not receive payment for rendering essential emergency health care services to such patients.  Physicians are required by Federal Law (EMTALA) to provide emergency care to all patients who walk through the door, regardless of whether the patient is intoxicated, yet emergency physicians are forced to absorb the costs associated with such treatment in these cases.  This is a gross inequity in the system, which would be corrected by Senate bill 3554.
• This bill has passed the Senate with overwhelming support in prior years.

  

View New York ACEP's memo in support of this bill

 

 

NYS Board of Elections District Maps & Representatives

  

NYS Board of Elections District Maps & Representatives

NYS Board of Elections District Maps & Representatives

Enter your contact information and click on "Find."