Health Headlines for Thursday, January 28
Community groups worry about being left out of Medicaid reform
Capital New York
Anthony Feliciano is popular these days. He is the director for the Commission on the Public’s Health System, a Manhattan-based nonprofit that advocates for medically underserved populations.
Assemblyman proposes bill to defund Planned Parenthood (updated)
Albany Times Union/Blog
Assemblyman Steve Katz, R-Yorktown, is pushing legislation that would prohibit state funding for Planned Parenthood locations in New York.
Albany transit company will repay Medicaid over $1 million
Albany Times Union
An Albany company that provides taxi and limousine services as well as transportation to medical appointments will repay the state more than $1 million for Medicaid payments it received for services it did not provide, according to terms of a settlement with the state Attorney General’s office.
AG warns maker on hepatitis drug costs
Boston Globe
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, opening a new front in the push to boost access to life-saving drugs, has warned the country’s biggest biotech company that it faces possible legal action unless it lowers the price of two popular hepatitis C medicines.
Before arrest, U.S. sought Shkreli’s communications with lawyer
Reuters
Days before Martin Shkreli’s arrest for securities fraud, U.S. prosecutors obtained a secret court order ruling that communications between the former pharmaceutical executive and a corporate lawyer also under investigation were not protected by attorney-client privilege.
Scientists Move Closer to Understanding Schizophrenia’s Cause
New York Times
Scientists reported on Wednesday that they had taken a significant step toward understanding the cause of schizophrenia, in a landmark study that provides the first rigorously tested insight into the biology behind any common psychiatric disorder.
NY Health Information Exchange Awarded $2M in CDC Initiative
HealthIT Interoperability
Central New York health information exchange HealtheConnections has been awarded $2 million in grant funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under an initiative to prevent and control chronic disease in the Empire State.