Health Headlines for Tuesday, December 26
New law mandates four year degree for RNs
WXXI News
New York has become the first state to require registered nurses to have a bachelor’s degree.
How will losing the individual mandate affect NY’s health care?
Press Connects
New York’s robust health exchange with 4 million enrollees faces two immediate challenges: the loss of the individual mandate as part of Obamacare and the potential loss of funding for a key state insurance program.
New York’s health plan marketplace enrollment tops 4 million
Niagara Gazette
State officials say enrollment in health plans through New York’s official marketplace has reached more than 4 million. That exceeds last year’s enrollment by 700,000.
State releases 2017 results for crackdown on illegal tobacco
Daily Star
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says a special task force created to crack down on illegal tobacco has seized more than $6 million worth of contraband cigarettes and cigars this year.
Trump Administration Eases Nursing Home Fines in Victory for Industry
New York Times
The Trump administration is scaling back the use of fines against nursing homes that harm residents or place them in grave risk of injury, part of a broader relaxation of regulations under the president.
A Better Kind of Nursing Home
New York Times
Lots of things look different when you step into a small Green House nursing home.
Greater Access to Donated Livers Promised to Transplant Patients
New York Times
With Manhattan skyscrapers as a backdrop, Roscoe and Sharon Fawcett celebrated their 29th anniversary with a meal of steak, corn and baked potatoes.
Give Lavern her law after years of Albany stalling
Daily News
During 2017, the state Senate passed 1,896 bills, the Assembly 998. Of those, 606 cleared both houses. Gov. Cuomo has signed 502 and vetoed 98.
NY scores high for health preparedness
Times Telegram
New York does well, but not perfectly, when it comes to preparedness for health emergencies, according to a recent report from Trust for America’s Health.
Drug overdose deaths spur drop in overall US life expectancy
ABC
For the first time in more than half a century, Americans’ life expectancy declined for the second straight year, a change driven by drug overdose deaths among younger people, officials said.
Medicare lowers payments to 751 hospitals due to patient injuries
MedCity News
The federal government Thursday lowered a year’s worth of Medicare payments to 751 hospitals to penalize them for having the highest rates of patient injuries.
State must protect patients and doctors
Daily Gazette
New York, according to one recent study, is the absolute worst place in the country to practice medicine.
Medicare fails to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in lab overcharges
Salon
Five years ago, Companion DX Reference Lab hoped to cash in on cutting-edge genetic tests paid for by Medicare.