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A8734 • 2025

Enacts the individual counseling rate enhancement act

Enacts the individual counseling rate enhancement act

Healthcare Labor
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Phil Steck
Last action
2026-05-18
Official status
In Assembly Committee
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Enacts the individual counseling rate enhancement act

Enacts the individual counseling rate enhancement act Requires a rate enhancement for reimbursement of individual psychotherapy services provided by a mental health counselor, a clinical social worker, or a psychologist where such services are provided in an outpatient substance use disorder clinic.

What This Bill Does

  • Enacts the individual counseling rate enhancement act Requires a rate enhancement for reimbursement of individual psychotherapy services provided by a mental health counselor, a clinical social worker, or a psychologist where such services are provided in an outpatient substance use disorder clinic.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-18 Assembly

    REPORTED REFERRED TO WAYS AND MEANS

  2. 2026-02-25 Assembly

    AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO ALCOHOLISM AND DRUG ABUSE

  3. 2026-02-25 Assembly

    PRINT NUMBER 8734A

  4. 2026-01-07 Assembly

    REFERRED TO ALCOHOLISM AND DRUG ABUSE

  5. 2025-06-02 Assembly

    REFERRED TO ALCOHOLISM AND DRUG ABUSE

Official Summary Text

Enacts the individual counseling rate enhancement act
Requires a rate enhancement for reimbursement of individual psychotherapy services provided by a mental health counselor, a clinical social worker, or a psychologist where such services are provided in an outpatient substance use disorder clinic.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8734

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                                  I N  A S S E M B L Y

                                      June 2, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. STECK -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse

        AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to establishing  the
          individual counseling for integrated care rate enhancement act

          THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
        BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

     1    Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "individual
     2  counseling rate enhancement act".
     3    § 2. The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new section 19.18-d
     4  to read as follows:
     5  § 19.18-D INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING RATE ENHANCEMENT.
     6    1. THE OFFICE SHALL ESTABLISH A RATE ENHANCEMENT FOR REIMBURSEMENT  OF
     7  INDIVIDUAL  PSYCHOTHERAPY  SERVICES  PROVIDED TO INDIVIDUALS BY A MENTAL
     8  HEALTH COUNSELOR LICENSED PURSUANT TO ARTICLE ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-THREE OF
     9  THE EDUCATION LAW OR A CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER LICENSED PURSUANT TO ARTI-
    10  CLE ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-FOUR  OF  THE  EDUCATION  LAW  OR  A  PSYCHOLOGIST
    11  LICENSED  PURSUANT  TO  ARTICLE ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-THREE OF THE EDUCATION
    12  LAW WHERE SUCH SERVICES ARE PROVIDED IN OUTPATIENT SUBSTANCE USE  DISOR-
    13  DER  CLINICS  LICENSED  PURSUANT  TO ARTICLE THIRTY-TWO OF THIS CHAPTER.
    14  SUCH RATE SHALL BE NO LESS THAN THE RATE ESTABLISHED BY THE  OFFICE  FOR
    15  INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING IN EFFECT ON APRIL FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
    16  PLUS A SERVICE RATE OF 50%.
    17    2.  THE  OFFICE  SHALL  PROMULGATE  REGULATIONS  TO IMPLEMENT THE RATE
    18  ENHANCEMENT SET FORTH UNDER THIS SECTION. IN DEVELOPING SUCH  RATES  THE
    19  OFFICE,  IN CONSULTATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, SHALL, IF NECES-
    20  SARY, PURSUE FEDERAL MEDICAID PARTICIPATION AND REIMBURSEMENT.    WITHIN
    21  THIRTY-SIX  MONTHS OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ENHANCED RATE, THE OFFICE
    22  SHALL EVALUATE AND REPORT WHETHER THE ACCESS TO INTEGRATED MENTAL HEALTH
    23  AND ADDICTION RECOVERY SERVICES INCREASED.  THE  OFFICE  SHALL  TRANSMIT
    24  SUCH  REPORT TO THE GOVERNOR, THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, THE
    25  SPEAKER OF THE ASSEMBLY, THE MINORITY  LEADER  OF  THE  SENATE  AND  THE
    26  MINORITY LEADER OF THE ASSEMBLY.
    27    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13259-01-5