New York State Legislature End-of-Session Update

During the week of June 15, the New York State Legislature completed its regular session, having given final two-house passage to a total of 856 bills.

The New York State Conference of Mayors has prepared a comprehensive municipal law summary, which includes bills that passed both houses and have an impact on local governments, as well as an update on the final status of several other bills of interest to municipalities that did not receive final passage.

For a complete copy of the summary, click here.

Consumer Alert: Cyberattack on Change Healthcare’s systems affected millions of patients and providers nationwide

New York State officials have issued a consumer alert to raise awareness about free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services available for millions of consumers impacted by the Change Healthcare data breach:

In February, Change Healthcare, which operates the nation’s largest electronic health care payment system, experienced a cyberattack that exposed the personal information of millions of patients, including millions of New Yorkers. After the cyberattack…. Change Healthcare is offering all New York residents free credit monitoring and identity theft protections for two years to safeguard their personal information.

According to officials consumers should be aware of potential warning signs that someone is using their medical information. These signs include:

• Bills for medical services they did not receive.
• Errors in their Explanation of Benefits statement, such as charges for services never received or prescriptions not taken.
• Calls from debt collectors about medical debts they do not owe.
• Medical debt collection notices on their credit report that they do not recognize.
• Notices from their health insurance company about reaching benefit limits.
• Denials of insurance coverage due to inaccurate pre-existing conditions.

The New York State Attorney General’s office is encouraging everyone to use the free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services to safeguard their information. These resources will be available for free for two years. Consumers can enroll in free credit monitoring and identity protection services online or by calling 1-866-262-5342.