Governor Signs Glucometry testing Fee Exemption Bill Into Law

FASNY is pleased to announce that the bill to exempt volunteer fire department ambulance services from the requirement to pay a $200 fee to obtain a certificate of registration for blood glucose testing was signed yesterday by Governor Cuomo.

The bill was sponsored by Senator Kemp Hannon and Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther and its passage and signature by the Governor was the result of some very hard work by FASNY’s government affairs team.

“We are very grateful that Governor Cuomo has recognized our position that volunteer fire department-based ambulance services should be exempt from this biennial fee,” said FASNY President James Burns.  “Especially in smaller and rural fire departments, unfunded mandates of this nature eat away at limited annual budget dollars.  On behalf of all of our state’s volunteer firefighters, I would like to thank Assemblywoman Gunther and Senator Hannon for their leadership in carrying this bill in their respective chambers.”

Currently, NYS Public Health Law requires that all EMS agencies testing blood glucose – whether by electronic glucometer or chem-strip — be required to possess a limited service laboratory registration. There is a biennial $200 fee imposed on Volunteer EMS responders for this license.

The legislation does not change the requirements to possess the appropriate license, nor change the requirement to provide appropriate quality assurance as currently required under Public Health Law; it only removes the financial obligation from these volunteer fire department-based ambulance services.

For FASNY’s legislative updates, please check out FASNY scorecard.