Your Weekly Dose of Health July 15, 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:

  • President Obama on Monday became the first sitting president to publish an article in a scholarly journal. The president wrote an article about the Affordable Care Act for the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). His article was not peer reviewed but was included under Special Communication and does include 68 end notes. Read the article here.
  • An article in Politico this week delves into one of the Affordable Care Act’s emerging problems – that many of the insurers the system counts on are losing money.
  • In an Editorial, the New York Post blames the Affordable Care Act for the financial state of New York City’s hospitals.
  • Medicare is endorsing the use of ID numbers in billing records for medical devices, according to the Wall Street Journal.

New York State News:

  • Governor Cuomo this week announced that the number of new HIV infections is 2,500, which is a record low. The state is on track to reduce new infections of HIV to 750 by the year 2020. Read more here.
  • Governor Cuomo announced more action to combat the use of synthetic marijuana after a recent spike of overdoses in New York City. Thirty-three people in Brooklyn were rushed to the hospital after smoking a bad batch of the unpredictable drug.

City News:

  • The city council this week passed legislation that requires the installation of lactation rooms in city buildings for new mothers to breast feed or pump milk.
  • Mayor de Blasio this week signed legislation to provide free feminine hygiene products in city schools, shelters and jails.

Upcoming Events:

  • The Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care is hosting the 7th international conference on patient and family centered care on July 25th through the 27th. More details here.
  • The United Hospital Fund is holding its 2016 Gala on September 26th at the Waldorf-Astoria. See more here.