As used in this article:
§ 7550.Definitions
Article 75-A. Health Care Arbitration · Last amended 2011 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 7550 defines the core terms used throughout Article 75-A's health care arbitration system, including who runs it, what counts as a hospital or health maintenance organization, and who qualifies as a health care provider.
Full Text of CPLR 7550
(a) “Arbitration administrator” means an entity designated by the superintendent of financial services to administer the arbitration of disputes pursuant to this article.
(b) “Hospital” has the same meaning as is set forth in subdivision ten of section twenty-eight hundred one of the public health law.
(c) “Health maintenance organization” has the same meaning as is set forth in subdivision one of section forty-four hundred one of the public health law and shall include health maintenance organizations authorized pursuant to article forty-three of the insurance law.
(d) “Health care provider” includes any person or entity employed or otherwise involved in the provision of health care or treatment.
Plain-English Summary
Article 75-A sets up a specialized arbitration track for malpractice-style disputes that arise out of health maintenance organization membership, and CPLR 7550 supplies the vocabulary the rest of the article leans on. It names the arbitration administrator as the entity the superintendent of financial services designates to run these arbitrations day to day, so every later section that refers to filing, scheduling, or paying for an arbitration points back to this one office.
The section also borrows definitions from outside the CPLR rather than inventing new ones. "Hospital" and "health maintenance organization" take their meaning from the public health law and the insurance law, which keeps Article 75-A lined up with the regulatory definitions that already govern how those entities operate. That matters because eligibility for this arbitration track, and the standards applied inside it, depend on whether a party fits one of these defined categories.
Finally, "health care provider" gets a broad reading: anyone employed in or otherwise involved in delivering health care or treatment. That breadth means the arbitration process can reach beyond doctors and hospitals to other people whose conduct is bound up in a patient's care, which shapes who can be named and who can be called to answer for what happened.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the arbitration administrator under CPLR 7550?
It is the entity the superintendent of financial services designates to administer arbitrations of health maintenance organization disputes under Article 75-A. Later sections route filings, arbitrator selection, and payments through this administrator.
Where does CPLR 7550 get its definition of hospital and HMO?
It cross-references the public health law's definitions for hospital and health maintenance organization, and it also folds in HMOs authorized under article forty-three of the insurance law. The section does not create separate definitions of its own.
Who counts as a health care provider under CPLR 7550?
Anyone employed or otherwise involved in providing health care or treatment. The definition is written broadly rather than limited to licensed physicians or hospitals.
Why does Article 75-A need its own definitions section?
Because the article sets up a specialized arbitration process for HMO-related malpractice disputes, and several later sections depend on knowing exactly who the arbitration administrator is and which entities qualify as hospitals, HMOs, or providers.
Does CPLR 7550 apply to insurance-authorized HMOs as well as public-health-law HMOs?
Yes. The definition of health maintenance organization includes those meeting the public health law's definition and those authorized under article forty-three of the insurance law.
Amendment History
Add, L 1986, ch 266, § 5, eff July 8, 1986; amd, L 2011, ch 62, § 104 (Part A), eff Oct 3, 2011.
Source & verification. Provision text, History, and Advisory
Committee Notes are reproduced verbatim from the Consolidated Laws of New York.
Last verified July 21, 2026.
· Official source
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