Requires a phone company to restore service promptly when phone service goes down for someone who uses a medical alert system or a device that transmits…

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Leroy Comrie says this is needed

The use of personal medical devices that alert healthcare providers of an emergency and that assist with remote patient monitoring are in use throughout our state. According to a report by Center for Technology and Aging, devices can be used to monitor a variety of medical conditions and can transmit vital health information to caregivers, physicians, and third parties. Examples of such devices include weight scales, glucome- ters, implantable cardioventer defibrillators, and blood pressure moni- tors. Some of these devices rely on telephone service to function properly, so when phone service goes down in the event of an outage, patients lives may be placed at risk. This bill establishes an emergency protocol that telephone companies must follow to a) determine which of their customers use communications technology for life threatening medical conditions and b) establish prdcedures to restore service promply to such custom- ers. Elderly or at-risk'patients who rely on such devices to communicate with their physicians or alert healthcare providers should not have to see their lives put on the line every, tin phone service goes out.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.