Your Weekly Dose of Health November 11, 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:

  • With the election of Donald Trump as our next President, the Affordable Care Act’s future is unclear but in some danger. Congressional Republicans have been calling for the law’s repeal since it was first passed and President-elect Trump has done the same. If the law is repealed, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that 22 million fewer Americans would have health care coverage. The Republican Senate lacks a supermajority of 60 members so it is unlikely they could repeal the entirety of the law in the short term.
  • More than 100,000 Americans on Wednesday bought health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, the largest single day of the current sign up period.
  • It’s unclear what Mr. Trump would replace the Affordable Care Act with, but House Speaker Paul Ryan prefers covering sick Americans through high risk pools.
  • Governor Christie of New Jersey was one of the many governors who chose to expand Medicaid under the ACA, putting him in a potential difficult position in regards to the new administration.
  • The WHO recommends that women see a doctor, nurse or midwife at least eight times during each pregnancy.

State News:

  • Repealing the Affordable Care Act would cost New York State $850 million while resulting in fewer people with insurance.
  • Senator Kemp Hannon, long time chair of the Senate Health Committee, won his re-election campaign.

City News:

  • Queens is a “hotbed of competition” between NYC’s health systems.
  • Mayor de Blasio announced that Stanley Brezenoff has been recommended to the Health and Hospitals Board of Directors as Interim President and CEO.

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.
  • The United Hospital Fund and GNYHA Foundation are hosting the 27th Annual Symposium on Health Care Services in New York: Research and Practice on November 15th at the CUNY Graduate Center.
  • The New York Health Plan Association is hosting it’s 2016 Annual Conference on November 17th at the Hilton Garden Inn in Troy NY.
  • Click here for upcoming meetings, hearings and events from the state Department of Health.