MSSNY Urges NY DFS to Require Health Insurers to Reimburse Health Care Practitioners for PPE Costs

MSSNY Urges NY DFS to Require Health Insurers to Reimburse Health Care Practitioners for PPE Costs


Statement Attributable to:
Bonnie Litvack, MD
President, Medical Society of the State of New York

“MSSNY does not condone health plan-participating health care practitioners charging their patients for the huge jumps in the cost of personal protective equipment (PPE), as state regulations limit the ability of such practitioners to bill patients for these costs.

“At the same time, given the enormous profits of the health insurance industry, MSSNY and others have been urging the NY Department of Financial Services to require health insurers to reimburse health care practitioners for these enormous jumps in PPE costs, and the significant difficulty in even obtaining it in the first place. Indeed, a recent MSSNY survey reported that nearly three quarters of the respondents expressed significant difficulty in obtaining PPE altogether, while nearly 40% of the respondents indicated that their PPE costs had gone up by more than 50%.

“Moreover, in some states such as California, their state governments have aggressively worked to provide community-based physician practices with PPE to ensure that these shortages do not adversely impact patient care.  MSSNY’s survey also showed that nearly one third of the responding physicians indicated that delays in obtaining PPE and huge price jumps forced these physicians to reduce their patient treatment capacity by at least 25%.

“This is a complex problem.  We will continue to work proactively with the Governor, DOH and DFS to help ensure physicians can receive the PPE they need so they can continue to be able to meet their patients’ care needs in a timely manner.”

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About MSSNY

Founded in 1807, the Medical Society of the State of New York is the state’s principal non-profit professional organization for physicians, residents and medical students of all specialties. Its mission is to represent the interests of patients and physicians to assure quality healthcare services for all. 

Press Contact:
Roseann Raia
Communications/Marketing
Medical Society of the State of New York
865 Merrick Ave
Westbury, NY 11590
516.488.6100 x302
rraia@mssny.org