The NYSCA Legislative Committee is pleased to share an update regarding one of NYSCA’s 2025 legislative priorities - the “virtual credit card bill”.
Sponsored by Assemblymember Alex Bores and Senator Jeremy Cooney, A3986-A/S2105-A requires any insurer that uses a credit card, virtual credit card, or electronic funds to pay a provider’s claim for reimbursement to notify the provider in advance if there is a fee to process the payment and provide an alternative payment method that does not impose a fee.
The bill, which passed both houses of the state legislature 6 months ago, was delivered to the Governor on December 8, 2025. Once she received it, she had 10 days to act. During this period, NYSCA lobbyist Amy Kellogg worked with Governor Hochul’s staff to answer questions and offer alternative viewpoints on some of the arguments raised by opponents of this legislation. In the end, we are very pleased to report that the Governor signed the bill into law as Chapter 647 of the Laws of 2025!
Governor Hochul agreed to sign the bill, in part, because we agreed to minor changes in the language of the bill that clarify what an insurer can do if the provider does not respond to requests for information related to the alternative method of payment if a virtual credit card is not agreed upon. The Senate and Assembly have both agreed to these changes and will pass legislation to that effect, called a Chapter Amendment, in the next legislative session. The new law will take effect 180 days from December 19, 2025, which will be around June 19, 2026.
This was a great victory for NYSCA and its members, not only because we achieved one of our legislative priorities, but also because we worked collaboratively and effectively with other health care providers to accomplish something that helps all healthcare providers that are being subjected to the virtual credit card fees. We will continue to explore opportunities to work similarly with these and other health care providers again in the future.
For any questions, please contact the NYSCA legislative committee. We will be providing information and updates on the enactment of this law as is necessary.