Your Weekly Dose of Health December 9, 2016

** As you may be aware, step therapy, or “fail first” legislation, A.2834D (Titone) / S.3419C (Young), passed the NYS Senate and Assembly in the final week of the Legislative Session. Please take the time to call Governor Cuomo at 518-474-8390 and urge him to sign this legislation into law, as it’s in the best interest of New York patients and providers! Click here for more information on step therapy.

 

National News:

  • The $6.3 billion 21st Century Cures bill – Vice President Biden’s “cancer moonshot” – was passed this week and now heads to President Obama’s desk to be signed into law. The bill passed the Senate by an overwhelming margin, 94 – 5. The bill provides major new funding for cancer research.
  • A full repeal of the Affordable Care Act would strip or reduce health related benefits and protections for millions of people who suffer from mental illness or substance abuse.
  • Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in an interview with the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent said that if Republicans repeal the ACA, Democrats are not going to help them pass a replacement. “If they repeal without a replacement, they will own it,” he said. Senate Democrats will not help them form what he dubbed a “half-baked solution.”
  • Life expectancy in the U.S. has declined for the first time since 1993, but researchers are having trouble figuring out why.

State News:

  • Governor Cuomo this week said that Republican proposals to block-grant Medicaid and repeal/replace the Affordable Care Act could have “dire consequences” for the state. New York’s Medicaid plan is among the nation’s most expensive and covers more than six million people.

 

City News:

  • New York City’s homelessness problem is getting worse. This week the homeless population in New York City hit another record high, this time 60,686. Mayor de Blasio plans to offer more policies to help stop rising homelessness.

Upcoming Events:

  • NYSHealth, The New York Academy of Medicine and NYU Langone Medical Center’s Department of Population Health are sponsoring the fourth annual Population Health Summit on December 12th.
  • Click here for upcoming meetings, hearings and events from the state Department of Health.