New York State Department of Financial Services Prepares New Regulations for Health Insurance

New Regulations to Collect Demographic Details for Health Equity

Health Insurers to Collect Personal Information, Including Race, Ethnicity, and Sexual Orientation

When signing up for or renewing health insurance in New York state, individuals will likely be required to provide detailed personal information, including their race, ethnicity, preferred language, and sexual orientation, through a questionnaire.

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) has drafted new regulations that would require health insurers to collect demographic details, such as customers’ race, ethnicity, gender, preferred language, and sexual orientation, when renewing or signing up for health insurance.

The new regulations aim to resolve the health equity gap by understanding the supply and demand for local medical services. For instance, if health insurance companies collect personal information about their customers and confirm that there are many African women of childbearing age in a certain area of Brooklyn, they can prepare policies in advance to expand the supply of obstetrics and gynecology-related medical services, such as childbirth, to that area.

Health insurance companies must use a separate survey method, rather than an insurance contract, to collect personal information from customers. While some are concerned that this may lead to personal information leaks, DFS has emphasized that the regulations include a ban on sharing personal information to prevent this.

The new regulations also include provisions prohibiting health insurance companies from discriminating against individuals by raising insurance premiums based on collected personal information, such as race, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, and marital status. Additionally, the regulations prohibit the use of personal information for sales or marketing purposes.

According to Adrian Harris, director of DFS, “The information that has been used primarily to address health equity gaps so far has been personal information about people covered by government health insurance, such as Medicare and Medicaid. Incorporating information about people covered by private health insurance, such as individuals and groups, is an opportunity that has been missed.”