Health Headlines for Monday, February 29

5 Obamacare Stats That Will Blow You Away

Albany Times Union

Statistics by themselves rarely astound anyone. For example, 80 yards probably doesn’t mean much to you. However, if you heard someone kicked an 80-yard field goal, that would be impressive. (It happened, by the way, last year when University of Texas kicker Nick Rose booted an 80-yarder in practice.) Context is key.

Read the full article

Cuomo’s $91M breast cancer plan gets mixed reviews in Syracuse (video)

Syracuse Post Standard

Gov. Andrew Cuomo describes his girlfriend’s battle against breast cancer as a “torturous long road with tears and pain,” one that ended with a double mastectomy.

Read the full article

Katko, Stefanik join efforts to stem heroin, synthetic drug abuse (Commentary)

Syracuse Post Standard

Synthetic drug and heroin abuse is plaguing our region — and it is a challenge we must tackle head on.

Read the full article

Medical step therapy under scrutiny

Utica Observer Dispatch

In a perfect health care world, patients would receive the best care at the cheapest price.

Read the full article

AARP: Price hikes doubled average drug price over 7 years

Albany Times Union/AP

The average cost for a year’s supply of a prescription drug doubled in just seven years to more than $11,000 — about three-quarters of the average annual Social Security benefit.

Read the full article

Texas Abortion Case

New York Times/Opinion

To the Editor: Re “Supreme Court Abortion Case Seen as Turning Point for Clinics” (front page, Feb. 25): In New York City, we are committed to providing access to safe and legal abortions for all women.

Read the full article

Upstate uninsured rate much lower than U.S. rate, study shows

Syracuse Post Standard

Upstate New York’s rate of people without health insurance is about 52 percent lower than the national rate, according to a report released today.

Read the full article