S929

The New York State Senate passed legislation sponsored by Sen. Krueger to expand health data privacy protections, requiring consumers to opt-in before private companies can sell their personal health information. The bill, S929, passed 49-10 on a roll call vote. Sen. Krueger argued the measure addresses a critical gap in privacy law, noting that the federal HIPAA statute only covers hospitals and doctor's offices, leaving telehealth providers and other private companies free to sell sensitive health data without consumer consent. She cited the example of telehealth erectile dysfunction medication purchases, where companies can sell customer information to third parties for marketing purposes without authorization. The legislation would require affirmative consent before any company using computers could share an individual's health information with other businesses. Ten senators voted against the bill: Borrello, Mattera, Murray, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Walczyk, Weber, and Weik. The bill takes effect one year after becoming law.