New York S 9331: Relates to access to prescription medication and coordination with workers' compensation board regulations governing network pharmacy use

Bill Text

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S09331 Summary:

BILL NOS09331 

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SAME ASSAME AS A10413

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SPONSORRAMOS

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COSPNSR

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MLTSPNSR

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Amd §13, Work Comp L

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Codifies certain regulations of the workers' compensation board relating to access to prescription medication and coordination with workers' compensation board regulations governing network pharmacy use; requires the workers' compensation board to file a report on out-of-network pharmacy use within 3 years of the effective date.

Go to top S09331 Actions:

BILL NOS09331 

&nbsp

03/02/2026REFERRED TO LABOR

04/28/20261ST REPORT CAL.871

04/29/20262ND REPORT CAL.

05/04/2026ADVANCED TO THIRD READING 

05/11/2026PASSED SENATE

05/11/2026DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY

05/11/2026referred to labor

Go to topS09331 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topS09331 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topS09331 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 9331

 IN SENATE

 March 2, 2026
 ___________

 Introduced by Sen. RAMOS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
 printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor

 AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to access to
 prescription medication and coordination with workers' compensation
 board regulations governing network pharmacy use

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature hereby
 2 finds that timely access to medically necessary prescription medication
 3 is essential to the health, safety, and recovery of injured workers, and
 4 that delays in authorization or dispensing may cause unnecessary pain,
 5 medical deterioration, and increased system costs.
 6 The legislature further finds that the workers' compensation board has
 7 adopted regulations governing out-of-network pharmacy access, effective
 8 July 2025, which allow injured workers to obtain prescription medication
 9 out of network when a contracted pharmacy fails to dispense such medica-
 10 tion and which provide for payment surcharges when medication is subse-
 11 quently determined to be compensable. These regulations represent impor-
 12 tant protections that should be codified in statute to ensure
 13 permanence, consistency, and enforceability, while preserving the
 14 board's authority to adapt to evolving medical and pharmaceutical deliv-
 15 ery systems.
 16 It is the intent of this act to codify and harmonize existing regula-
 17 tory protections in statute, establish clear, objective, and time-based
 18 standards that minimize litigation and factual disputes, ensure prompt
 19 access to prescription medication, preserve administrative efficiency,
 20 and maintain the workers' compensation board's full regulatory flexibil-
 21 ity to address emerging issues related to prescription medication
 22 access.
 23 § 2. Subdivision (i) of section 13 of the workers' compensation law is
 24 amended by adding a new paragraph 6 to read as follows:
 25 (6)(i) Notwithstanding paragraph five of this subdivision, a claimant
 26 shall be permitted to obtain prescribed medication from a pharmacy of

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD09234-02-6

 S. 9331 2

 1 such claimant's choice outside of an employer or carrier contracted
 2 pharmacy network when any of the following objective conditions occur:
 3 (A) a prescription medication that has been authorized for dispensing
 4 by the employer or insurance carrier has not been dispensed by a
 5 contracted network pharmacy within the timeframes for dispensing estab-
 6 lished by regulations of the workers' compensation board, as documented
 7 in the workers' compensation board's electronic system of record or in
 8 written authorization communications;
 9 (B) the employer, insurance carrier, or contracted network pharmacy
 10 has failed to issue a written authorization or reauthorization determi-
 11 nation within the timeframes established by regulations of the workers'
 12 compensation board following documented receipt of a request for such
 13 determination, as reflected in the workers' compensation board's elec-
 14 tronic data interchange system or, if sub