Health Headlines for Monday, January 8

Democrats move to offense on health care; seek ‘big ideas’

Albany Times Union

Democrats are shifting to offense on health care, emboldened by successes in defending the Affordable Care Act.

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Humira’s Best-Selling Drug Formula: Start at a High Price. Go Higher.

New York Times

Humira is the best-selling prescription drug in the world. You may have seen the commercials.

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How Medicare Makes Rite Aid A Buyout Target

Forbes

As baby boomers age and become eligible for Medicare and its drug coverage, Rite Aid sees a promising and profitable future.

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Putnam Joins Suit Against Big Pharma Over Opioids

Southeast Patch

Putnam County has joined the New York Opioid Cost Recovery litigation.

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Nurses facing four-year degree requirement under new law

Observer

Registered nurses looking to jump into their respective fields are now required to earn a bachelor’s degree of science in nursing within the first 10 years of becoming a nurse.

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Recovery group praises Cuomo’s tough talk on opioids

Post Star

A group representing substance abuse treatment professionals is praising new proposals from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to crack down on the opioid epidemic.

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City’s New Public Hospitals Chief Will Focus on Primary Care

New York Times

The incoming president of NYC Health & Hospitals wants to turn the nation’s largest public health care network into an agency that focuses less on hospitalized care and more on primary care, similar to initiatives carried out nationwide.

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Doctor, heal the hospitals: Mitchell Katz’s big task

New York Daily News

Welcome to New York, Dr. Mitchell Katz, for your first day on the job as boss of the city’s public hospital system, with nothing bigger on your plate than, oh, saving from collapse 11 teetering-on-the-brink health-care facilities that cost $7 billion a year, employ 47,000 and serve 1.4 million a year more.

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Cyberattack knocks New York hospital offline for a week

Healthcare IT News

Wellsville, New York-based University of Rochester’s Jones Memorial Hospital has been offline since Dec. 28, and is just now in the final stages of restoring its system.

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A physician homebuilder tries to upend the nursing home industry — and give seniors back their independence

STAT

It’s an unlikely place to launch a war against the nursing home industry.

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Hospitals Nationally Hit Hard By Medicare’s Safety Penalties

NPR

As the federal government penalizes 751 hospitals for having too many infections and patient injuries, some states are feeling the cuts in Medicare payments more than others.

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Envisioning the future: Utica hospital project draws inspiration from other hospitals

Observer Dispatch

When Dr. Eric Yoss saw a nursing unit in the new Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System Replacement Medical Center in New Orleans, he saw the future of nursing in Utica.

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BlueCross BlueShield expands Medicaid care in Niagara, Orleans counties

Niagara Gazette

BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York is expanding its Medicaid managed care footprint into Niagara and Genesee counties.

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