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City & State: The fight to regulate pharmacy benefit managers

Mar 8, ’20 11:19 AM

Democratic lawmakers in both houses of the state Legislature passed legislation last year that would regulate pharmacy benefit managers in New York for the first time. Independent pharmaciescheered. Insurers and manufacturers – who own some PBMs – not so much. Huge sums were at stake, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo ended up vetoing the bill last December. But the governor left the door open for lawmakers to send a new bill this year if it addressed five concerns he had in the original legislation. That could happen in the coming months, according to Assembly Health Committee Chairman Richard Gottfried, who sponsored the original bill.

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January-February Health Committee Update

Feb 27, ’20 2:48 PM

The Assembly Health Committee favorably reported 31 bills at its January and February meetings.  The Committee reported bills to extend Medicaid coverage for new mothers; reform the distribution of indigent care pool funds for hospitals serving low-income patients; create an emerging contaminants monitoring list in order to ensure that all water systems in New York are tested for potentially dangerous chemicals, lower lead levels in school water, and provide insurance coverage for medical marijuana.

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Evening Observer: Assembly approves bill to aid blood drives

Feb 15, ’20 10:49 AM

“This bill would create a program of grants to help community groups and schools run blood drives,” Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, D-New York City and legislation sponsor wrote in his legislative justification. “When community organizations or schools conduct blood drives, the blood bank generally pays for the cost of the blood collection itself. But the blood banks do not pay for promotional activities such as mailings to an organization’s members, or the cost of the space if this cost exists.”

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Jamestown Post-Journal: Assembly Approves Bill To Aid Blood Drives

Jan 22, ’20 9:25 PM

January 20, 2020

The state Assembly has approved legislation that would allow the state Health Department to make grants to organizations that hold blood drives.

Assemblyman Joe Giglio, R-Gowanda, voted in favor of A.1151 while Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, R-Jamestown, was marked ER for the vote. Only one Assembly member, Michael Montesano, R-Glen Head, voted against the legislation. There was no discussion of the proposal’s merits on the Assembly floor.

The legislation, S.3739, is still in the state Senate’s Health Committee.

It would amend the state Public Health Law to allow the state health commissioner to make grants to non-profits and elementary, secondary and post-secondary schools to help pay costs to hold local blood drives.

“This bill would create a program of grants to help community groups and schools run blood drives,” Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, D-New York City and legislation sponsor wrote in his legislative justification. “When community organizations or schools conduct blood drives, the blood bank generally pays for the cost of the blood collection itself. But the blood banks do not pay for promotional activities such as mailings to an organization’s members, or the cost of the space if this cost exists.”

Similar legislation has been brought up in every legislative session since 2003 and has passed the Assembly eight times. It has been vetoed three times by the governor.

City and State: Democratic lawmakers’ big plans for health care

Dec 11, ’19 3:46 PM

This year has been a big one for health care in state government. The state Legislature finally passed the Reproductive Health Act and other legislation that had stalled in the state Senate when it was under GOP control. Gov. Andrew Cuomo led a successful effort to codify Obamacare in state law, just in case Republicans succeed in repealing the landmark health care law at the federal level. State lawmakers even got a chance to stage a statewide series of public hearings on single-payer health care – one of the most controversial proposals in state politics.

A new session of the state Legislature will begin in January, and it is likely that Democratic control of both houses of the Legislature will once again smooth the passage of numerous proposals affecting health care across the Empire State. Here’s a look at some issues coming up in the months ahead.

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WRFI (with audio): 165 New Yorkers testify on proposed New York Health Act

Nov 8, ’19 5:11 PM

By Fred Balfour | November 6, 2019

At the national level, the first four Democratic primary debates discussed “Medicare for all” and how to pay for it. That topic lead all the others in total minutes.

Meanwhile, New York state’s legislature held 3 open hearings across the state to discuss the proposed New York Health Act single payer health insurance. Totaling 28 hours, over 165 people testified. 20 legislators asked questions and probed for clarity.

At last count, close to a majority of NY legislators had committed to bring the New York Health Act bill to a vote in both the senate and the assembly in the 2020 session or in about four months. If the bill passes and is signed by Governor Cuomo, New York will lead the U.S. in implementing single-payer health insurance.

Fred Balfour at the WRFI Healthcare Desk explores some of the major issues coming out of these hearings. And future programs will examine the major issues in detail.

CNHI: NY lawmakers eye ban on youth football

Nov 1, ’19 6:35 PM

ALBANY – Citing growing medical evidence linking head injuries to
brain disease, several New York lawmakers have kicked off an effort to prohibit children ages 12 and under from playing tackle football.

The proposed ban would extend to not only school-sponsored football programs but also Pop Warner and youth leagues that require parental consent for children to join teams.

At a legislative hearing
Tuesday, Chris Nowinski, co-founder of the Boston-based Concussion Legacy Foundation and an expert on chronic traumatic encephalopathy
(CTE), contended prevention is now “the only tool” to curb traumatic head injuries in tackle football.

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Wall Street Journal: Hearings on Single-Payer Health-Care Plans Draw Crowds Around New York

Oct 31, ’19 5:44 PM

New Yorkers are waiting hours and lining up down the street to tell state legislators the same refrain: fix health care.

Workers, physicians, nurses, parents, business owners, the elderly and the infirm have been testifying at hearings around the state about the New York Health Act, which would establish universal, guaranteed health care across the state with a single-payer plan. During the most recent forum, at a public library in the Bronx last week, people filled a 150-seat auditorium to hear testimony that ultimately ended when the library closed for the day.

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PRESS RELEASE: Patients, Providers, Labor, and Others to Testify at Legislative Hearing in Rochester on Universal Single-Payer Health Care

Oct 3, ’19 10:22 AM

CONTACT:
Mischa Sogut, 518-455-4941 or 202-365-5475
SogutM@nyassembly.gov

October 2, 2019

The NY Senate and Assembly Health Committees will hold a public hearing and press conference in Rochester on October 10 on the New York Health Act.

Millions of New Yorkers with insurance go without needed health care or face serious financial obstacles, debt and bankruptcy to get it.

The New York Health Act, A.5248/S.3577, would establish universal, comprehensive single-payer health coverage, including long-term care, for all New Yorkers. The program would be publicly funded, including existing federal support for Medicaid and Medicare. New Yorkers would no longer have to pay premiums, deductibles, co-pays, out-of-network charges, or have limited provider networks.

The Rochester hearing is the second in a series of statewide hearings, with other hearings to be scheduled in New York City and the Hudson Valley. The hearings will provide an opportunity for comments and suggestions from stakeholders around the state on the New York Health Act. Video and a transcript of the first hearing, held in Albany on May 28, can be found here.

More information, including a form if you wish to be invited to testify, can be found here.

What:
Public hearing and press conference on the New York Health Act, A.5248/S.3577

Who:
New York State Assembly and Senate Health Committees; witnesses including patient advocates; health care provider organizations; labor representatives; small business; and other health care experts and advocates

Where:
Press Conference: Bausch and Lomb Parlor
Hearing: Memorial Art Gallery Ballroom

University of Rochester
500 University Avenue
Rochester, NY 14607

(The Parlor and Ballroom are across the hall from each other)

When:
Press Conference: Thursday, October 10, 9:30 AM
Hearing:Thursday, October 10, 10:00 AM

The hearing will also be webcast live at: https://nyassembly.gov/av/

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NY County Politics: Gottfried, Rivera Pen Letter Calling on DOH to save CDPA

Jul 22, ’19 12:00 PM

A new policy being implemented by the New York State Department of Health (DOH) could end up neutering the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance (CDPA) program – and New York lawmakers are begging them to reconsider.

Assemblymember Richard Gottfried (D-Chelsea, Midtown) and State Senator Gustavo Rivera (D- Kingsbridge Heights) have written a letter to the DOH to try and dissuade them from making the change.

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