2012 NYS Legislative Session Wraps Up

Analysis from Russ Sciandra, NYS Director of Advocacy, American Cancer Society of NY & NJ

Albany, NY (June 27, 2012) - The New York State Legislature adjourned last Thursday, as scheduled.  The on-time closure was reflective of the entire six months of the session, which featured a budget delivered before the April 1 due date and several legislative accomplishments.  In the view of Capitol observers, it cemented Governor Cuomo's dominance of policy making in Albany, established during his first year in office. 

Regarding the American Cancer Society's legislative agenda, it was a successful session.

Budget
•    Tobacco Control Program (TCP) – The Governor proposed cutting TCP budget by $5 million and his position was seconded by the Senate Republicans.  However, ACS and its allies successfully battled to maintain tobacco control funding at $41.4 million, the same level as the previous year.  This is the first time since 2009 that the TCP budget hasn’t been cut.  It is far too low, less than 20% of the CDC recommendation, but at least we’ve stopped the bleeding and hopefully set the stage for an increase next year.  A key to our success was raising awareness in the Assembly of the disproportionate impact of tobacco on the disadvantaged, and the difficulty in reaching that audience with a constantly shrinking budget. 

•    Cancer Services Program (Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program) – We maintained funding for this program at the same level as last year, $26.7 million.

•    Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC) – EPIC provides assistance to Senior Citizens, including cancer patients, in paying for prescription drugs (e.g. when they fall into the infamous “donut hole”).  The Governor proposed eliminating the program, but working with AARP, we convinced the Legislature to restore most of the funding.

Health Insurance Exchange
•    The Senate refused to take up legislation creating a health insurance exchange mandated by the Affordable Care Act, so the Governor created one by Executive Order.  The new exchange is a bare-bones affair, and many important policy decisions including market merger, the Basic Health Plan, and an assessment to cover the cost of the exchange, will require legislation.  Much depends on what the Supreme Court decides, to be announced this week, but in any case, we expect to urge that New York forge ahead with creating an exchange, modeled on the one operating in Massachusetts.

Legislation
•    Teenage indoor tanning ban – The Legislature passed a compromise bill raising the age at which a child can use indoor tanning facilities from 14 to 17.  For three years, ACS has advocated for a ban up to age 18.  ACS did not endorse the compromise bill, but it is clear that the legislation that emerged was the result of our hard fought campaign.  We will urge the Governor to approve the legislation, at the same time calling on him to tighten regulation of the industry to protect all consumers.  We will then continue to fight to raise the age to 18.

•    Electronic Cigarettes – On the last day of session the Legislature completed action on a measure prohibiting the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors and requiring that e-cigs be kept behind the counter, out of customer reach.

•    Standardized Prior Approval Form – When doctors prescribe a drug for a Medicaid patient that is not in the managed care provider’s formulary, they have to request prior approval from the insurer.  There are more than 20 such forms used by the various providers.  Red tape like this limits cancer patients’ access to the best medication to treat their disease.  This law, supported by ACS, will require all insurers to use one standardized form.

•    Smoking Ban Within 100 Feet of School Entrances – Tobacco use is banned on school grounds.  This bill, endorsed by ACS, extends the smoke free perimeter to 100 feet from entrances, exits and school grounds.

•    Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing (iSTOP) – Prescription narcotic use is a very serious problem.  At the same time, many patients often cancer patients, can’t or won’t access pain medication that could significantly improve their quality of life.  When the Attorney General proposed last winter a sweeping measure requiring doctors to check a patient’s prescription history on an internet database before prescribing a narcotic, we were concerned that the burden of checking and risk of legal exposure would discourage doctors from prescribing adequate pain relievers to cancer patients with real need.  ACS entered into behind the scenes discussions with the Governor and Attorney General, and made the legislation adopted this month much more balanced.  The law now recognizes that under prescription of pain medication is a problem as well as over prescription and specifies that an oncologist be appointed to the panel advising the Health Commissioner on ways to address the problem.  The measure means that New York will meet all five standards on ACSCAN’s Quality of Life metric.

•    Bad Bills – We blocked bills to cut the tax on expensive cigars, to limit the bond tobacco companies (and only tobacco companies) have to post when they appeal civil judgments, and a special interest measure that would have allowed Nat Sherman Tobacco to open a bar in Manhattan where smoking was allowed. Sherman had twice been denied a waiver from the Clean Indoor Air Law, so they decided to try to rewrite the law.

•    Two Disappointments - Once again this year the Senate failed to act on a bill supported by ACS to ban fruit and candy flavors in tobacco products other than cigarettes (where they are already prohibited by Federal law).  The Senate did not act on a bill to outlaw low-tax "roll your own" cigarette machines in retail stores, the latest example of creative tax evasion.

During the session we produced three “Cancer Briefs,” four page documents designed to inform legislators about policy-oriented cancer issues.  The briefs were:  “Tobacco Control,” making the case for increased funding for the TCP; “Colorectal Cancer,” and “Melanoma and Indoor Tanning.”

The session saw many media advocacy successes, including a reference to the American Cancer Society in a New York Times editorial in support of the teenage indoor tanning ban.