Your Weekly Dose of Health July 17, 2015

Your voice is needed! Urge Governor Cuomo to sign A.7208/ S. 4893 into law by calling 518-362-8946 or filling out the contact form. This legislation clarifies the prescriber prevails process in Medicaid Managed Care and ensures a doctor has final say over medication decisions for his or her patient.

The uninsured rate for U.S. adults hit 11.4% in the second quarter, according to Gallup.  That’s down half a percentage point from the first quarter of 2015.

Governor of Alaska, Bill Walker, said yesterday that he will expand Medicaid for low income residents in his state, an option under the Affordable Care Act that will allow his state to receive federal funding for the program.  His administration estimates that about 42,000 people will benefit from such an expansion.

Columbia University professor of Medicine David Seres writes in an op-ed that the ACA is “the single most important social program in decades” and that opponents of the law would do well to stop attacking the lawsuits.

Governor Cuomo appointed Paul Francis this week as the new Deputy Secretary for Health.  Mr. Francis was formerly the state budget director.  In addition, he served as the chief campaign advisor to former Governor Eliot Spitzer, before becoming the governor’s budget director and director of state operations. He replaces Courtney Burke, who has taken a position with the Albany Medical Center.

Governor Cuomo proposed today tougher regulations to fight the rise of synthetic marijuana in New York State.