Health Headlines for Tuesday, March 22
More medical marijuana companies, broader access, information about doctors, among proposed tweaks
Albany Business Review
The slow progress is because the law enacted by the legislature and the regulations implemented by the executive branch are so restrictive, according to the chair of the Assembly Health Committee.
Schumer: Equalize Medicaid for developmentally disabled
Ithaca Journal
When Allan Walley left Broome Development Center after 20 years of institutionalization, there were some doubts that the man with a learning disability could live on his own.
NYC hospitals, faced with $1.2B budget gap, plea for help as they struggle to survive
New York Daily News
The city’s public hospital system faces “unprecedented threats to our survival,” its president said Monday.
Fighting Heroin, Ithaca Looks to Injection Centers
New York Times
Even Svante L. Myrick, the mayor of this city, thought the proposal sounded a little crazy, despite the fact that it was put forth by a committee he appointed. The plan called for establishing a site where people could legally shoot heroin — something that exists nowhere else in the United States.
Anthem sues Express Scripts for $15 billion over drug pricing
Modern Healthcare
Health insurer Anthem has sued Express Scripts Holding Co., alleging the pharmacy benefits manager is not passing along billions of dollars in savings from negotiated drug prices.
Disputed health law rule would broaden transgender rights
Albany Times Union
Big companies are pushing back against proposed federal rules they say would require their medical plans to cover gender transition and other services under the nondiscrimination mandate of President Barack Obama’s health care law.
Health insurance gains due to Obama’s law, not economy
Albany Times Union
There’s growing evidence that most of the dramatic gain in the number of Americans with health care coverage is due to President Barack Obama’s law, and not the gradual recovery of the nation’s economy.
Advocates of minimum wage hike rally against cost argument
Capital New York
With 10 days until a final agreement is due, advocacy groups are ramping up their efforts to include a $15 minimum wage in the state budget.