The provisions of this article shall apply to all claims for damages because of injury or death resulting from health care or treatment rendered or failed to be rendered to enrollees and other covered family members of health maintenance organizations and all other claims, cross-claims, counter-claims, and claims for contribution and indemnity arising from claims subject to agreements to arbitrate made pursuant to section forty-four hundred six-a of the public health law and to arbitrations authorized pursuant to section thirty hundred forty-five of this chapter.
§ 7551.Applicability
Article 75-A. Health Care Arbitration · Last amended 1986 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 7551 fixes the scope of Article 75-A, applying it to malpractice-type claims by HMO enrollees and covered family members along with related cross-claims, counterclaims, and contribution or indemnity claims tied to a qualifying arbitration agreement.
Full Text of CPLR 7551
Plain-English Summary
Not every dispute involving a health maintenance organization goes through Article 75-A's arbitration process. CPLR 7551 draws the boundary: the article covers claims for damages arising from health care or treatment that was given, or should have been given, to an HMO enrollee or a covered family member. That framing ties the article to malpractice-style injuries rather than to every disagreement an enrollee might have with a health plan.
The section also reaches beyond the original injury claim itself. Cross-claims, counterclaims, and claims for contribution or indemnity that grow out of a claim already subject to arbitration fall inside the same process, so a single injury doesn't end up litigated on two separate tracks depending on who is suing whom. The trigger for coverage is an arbitration agreement made under the public health law provision governing HMO enrollment agreements, or an arbitration authorized under the separate no-fault arbitration section of the CPLR.
By anchoring coverage to those two sources, the legislature made clear that Article 75-A doesn't create a freestanding arbitration obligation. It applies only where an enrollee's HMO agreement already commits the parties to arbitrate, or where the arbitration is one already authorized elsewhere in the chapter.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kinds of claims does CPLR 7551 cover?
Claims for damages because of injury or death from health care or treatment rendered, or that should have been rendered, to HMO enrollees and their covered family members, plus related cross-claims, counterclaims, and contribution or indemnity claims.
Does Article 75-A apply to every dispute with a health maintenance organization?
No. It applies only to claims tied to an arbitration agreement made under the public health law's HMO enrollment provision, or to arbitrations authorized under the CPLR's no-fault arbitration section.
Can a third party's contribution claim get pulled into this arbitration?
Yes. CPLR 7551 extends coverage to claims for contribution and indemnity that arise from a claim already subject to arbitration under this article.
Who is protected by Article 75-A's arbitration process?
Enrollees of health maintenance organizations and their covered family members who suffer injury or death connected to health care or treatment.
Does CPLR 7551 cover claims that don't involve an HMO at all?
No. The claim has to be connected to health care or treatment rendered to an HMO enrollee or covered family member, and it has to trace back to a qualifying arbitration agreement or authorized arbitration.
Amendment History
Add, L 1986, ch 266, § 5, eff July 8, 1986.
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
Also known as: scope of HMO arbitration New Yorkwho must arbitrate HMO malpractice claimhealth care arbitration coveragearticle 75-A applicability