NYS Health Committee to review Sen. Siela Bynoe's bill on stricter doctor oversight

 The State Senate Health Committee is considering legislation filed in response to Newsday's "Broken Practice" investigation that would create stricter oversight of doctor misconduct and automatic revocation of licenses for certain conduct.

 

The legislation, sponsored by State Sen. Siela Bynoe (D-Westbury), would require the state to revoke the licenses of doctors convicted of sexual abuse or harassment. If doctors were penalized in another state, they would face at least the same consequences in New York, according to the bill.

"We ought to be able to ensure there is some consistency when there is a case being reviewed and that there are clear consequences when there are serious offenses," Bynoe said in an interview with Newsday on Wednesday.

The legislation also pitches changing the makeup of the board that imposes the penalties so that non-physicians make up a greater share of its membership. The board was composed of 62 physicians and 27 non-physician members at the end of 2023, according to its annual report.

The bill, which Bynoe said is intended to "promote transparency and accountability," would also require more public posting of disciplinary actions.

Newsday's investigation found that New York’s physician discipline system had allowed doctors with criminal convictions or who have been alleged of misconduct to continue practicing, often without restrictions. Regulators had taken fewer disciplinary actions against doctors over the past decade, with a shift toward education and remediation rather than serious sanctions, the investigation found.

Bynoe introduced the bill in June, during the final days of the legislative session. It has been referred to the Senate's Health Committee. It was originally referred to the Higher Education Committee.

The lone lobbying on the legislation last year came from the Medical Society of the State of New York. The trade group pushed back on the proposed solutions, according to its top lobbyist, Dr. Thomas T. Lee. He had told Newsday that minimum penalties on doctors is a nonstarter.

When Lee first lobbied on the bill, he was also chair of the state Board for Professional Medical Conduct, the entity that would be subject to the legislation's proposed rules.

He retired from the post in August, after Newsday’s series. "If I’m a distraction," he said, "it’s time for me to retire."

Bynoe acknowledged the legislation could be amended.

"I would like to see this bill move forward intact but I am willing to have the conversation because I do think once we set certain guidelines, it will set the stage to start yielding accountability," she said. "You know, Rome wasn’t built in a day."

Sen. Gustavo Rivera (D-Bronx), chair of the Health Committee, said he thinks lawmakers will want to take action.

"The story that Newsday broke last year was disturbing and obviously it is something no one wants to see happening again," Rivera told Newsday Wednesday. "I look forward to working with the sponsor, Sen. Bynoe, on what the strongest legislative response can be."

In the lower chamber, the Health Committee chair, Assemb. Amy Paulin (D-Westchester County), declined to comment specifically on the legislation.

- Newsday's Yancey Roy contributed to this story.