S4874 — Criminalizes acting as a runner or soliciting or employing a runner to procure patients or clients

Summary

Criminalizes acting as a runner or soliciting or employing a runner to procure patients or clients.

Bill Text

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Compared against the New York Consolidated Laws as published AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

This bill amends 1 section(s) of the New York Consolidated Laws: Section 176.00 of the penal law.

• Section 176.00 of the penal law

  6. "Provider" means an attorney, a health care professional, an owner or operator of a health care practice or facility, any person who creates the impression that they, or their practice can provide legal or health care services, any person employed or acting on behalf of any such person, or any person providing management or consulting services to any such person. 7. "Public media" means telephone directories, professional directo- ries, newspapers and other periodicals, radio and television, bill- boards, and mailed or electronically transmitted written communications that do not involve direct contact with a specific prospective client, patient, or customer. 8. "Runner" means a person who, for a pecuniary benefit, procures or attempts to procure a client, patient or customer at the direction of, request of or in cooperation with a provider whose purpose is to seek to obtain benefits under a contract of insurance or assert a claim against an insured or an insurance carrier for providing services to the client, patient or customer, or to obtain benefits under or assert a claim against a state or federal health care benefits program or prescription drug assistance program. "Runner" shall not include (a) a person who procures or attempts to procure clients, patients or customers for a provider through public media; (b) a person who refers clients, patients or customers as otherwise authorized by law; or (c) a person who, as an italics agent, broker or employee of a health maintenance organization as defined in section forty-four hundred one of the public health law, seeks to sell health maintenance organization coverage or health insur- ance coverage to an individual or group. 9. "Pecuniary benefit" means goods, money, property, services or anything of value, or an agreement to confer or receive any such goods, money, property, services, or thing of value. § 176.85 Unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers in the third degree. A person is guilty of unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers in the third degree when such person knowingly: 1. acts as a runner on one or more occasions; or 2. uses, solicits, directs, hires or employs another person to act as a runner on one or more occasions. Unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers in the third degree is a class A misdemeanor. § 176.90 Unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers in the second degree. A person is guilty of unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers in the second degree when such person knowingly: 1. acts as a runner on one or more occasions for a pecuniary benefit that in the aggregate exceeds two thousand five hundred dollars in value or acts as a runner on five or more occasions; or 2. uses, solicits, directs, hires or employs one or more persons to act as a runner on one or more occasions for a pecuniary benefit that in the aggregate exceeds two thousand five hundred dollars in value or uses, solicits, directs, hires or employs one or more persons to act as a runner on five or more occasions. Unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers in the second degree is a class E felony. § 176.95 Unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers in the first degree. A person is guilty of unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers in the first degree when such person knowingly: 1. acts as a runner on one or more occasions for a pecuniary benefit that in the aggregate exceeds five thousand dollars in value or acts as a runner on ten or more occasions; or 2. uses, solicits, directs, hires or employs one or more persons to act as a runner on one or more occasions for a pecuniary benefit that in the aggregate exceeds five thousand dollars or uses, solicits, directs, hires or employs one or more persons to act as a runner on ten or more occasions. Unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers in the first degree is a class D felony. sections 176.90 and 176.95 relating to unlawful

  added

Action History

1. January 07, 2026

   REFERRED TO CODES

2. February 13, 2025

   REFERRED TO CODES

Sponsors

• Patricia Fahy · Primary

Subjects