Health Headlines for Thursday, January 26
Where NY ranks in Medicare waste in the country
Albany Business Review
The good news is that improper Medicare payments to health care providers fell sharply in 2015. The bad news: The overspending still totaled in the hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars. And New York is particularly bad with waste.
Cuomo’s pharma proposals face uncertain future
Politico
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposals to rein in prescription drug costs place him once again at the forefront of a national debate on health care, and while he has been cheered by hospitals and insurers, his plans may be pre-empted by federal laws and are certain to face intense opposition and, possibly, a legal challenge from the pharmaceutical industry.
Soaring prices for orphan drugs slam U.S. families and insurers
Spectrum
Before Luke Whitbeck began taking a $300,000-a-year drug, the 2-year-old’s health was inexplicably failing.
Empire BlueCross BlueShield Foundation Tackled Complex Health Needs in New York in 2016
Business Wire
The Empire BlueCross BlueShield Foundation works with organizations in Empire’s 28-county service area to help improve the health of New Yorkers.
Despite uncertainty, NY health plan marketplace continues enrollment
WRVO
While the New York state health exchange fields its busiest enrollment period yet, uncertainty looms.
Nearly half of breast cancer patients have severe treatment side effects
Reuters
Many women being treated for breast cancer suffer from severe treatment side effects even when they don’t receive chemotherapy, a recent study suggests.
Hospitals sprout cost-efficient urgent-care centers as demand grows
Modern Healthcare
Hospital systems are using acquisitions and joint ventures with urgent-care chains to build out patient access points in their markets that are a lower-cost alternative to emergency rooms for cuts, sprains and flu.
Sisters Hospital to double size of neonatal unit that bursts at the seams
Buffalo News
Sisters of Charity Hospital plans to double the number of beds in its bustling neonatal intensive care unit as part of nearly $9 million project announced Wednesday.