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— Local officials are forcefully rejecting Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s assertion that they played a major role in the Medicaid shortfall.
— The newly reconvened Medicaid Redesign Team holds its first public comment forum today in New York City.
— Foster care youth and advocates are lobbying lawmakers on behalf of a program that connects young people with one-on-one coaches, which they said is especially important for those who age out of the system.
Policy and Politics
LOCAL OFFICIALS PUSH BACK ON PROPOSED MEDICAID CHANGES — POLITICO’s Shannon Young: Nearly an hour into his State of the State address last month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo finally broached the subject on the minds of many Albany observers: How he planned to plug the state’s $6 billion budget deficit, primarily driven by Medicaid spending. In the weeks leading up to the annual address, the governor attributed the Medicaid shortfall to federal funding decreases, an increase in New York’s minimum wage and long-term care costs. But in the speech, he pointed his finger at a new culprit: local governments. He later doubled down on the assertion while unveiling his fiscal year 2021 executive budget, accusing New York City and counties of developing “blank check syndrome” since the state took over their Medicaid spending growth about six years ago to help them meet a 2 percent property tax cap. Cuomo called for local share Medicaid changes to ensure that counties and New York City “have more skin in the game.” But now local officials are forcefully rejecting the governor’s assertion that they played a major role in the Medicaid shortfall, setting the stage for a potentially explosive confrontation as next month’s budget deadline nears.
MRT II TO HEAR FROM PUBLIC — Shannon reports: The newly reconvened Medicaid Redesign Team will hold its first public comment forum today in New York City, state health officials have announced. The 21-member panel, which is tasked with identifying $2.5 billion in Medicaid savings by mid-March, will hear proposals and feedback from health industry officials, advocates and others on Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan during a forum at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
FOSTER CARE ADVOCATES SEEK ADDITIONAL REIMBURSEMENTS, FUNDING — POLITICO’s Marcus Navarro: Foster care youth and advocates spent Thursday at the Capitol lobbying lawmakers on behalf of a program that connects young people with one-on-one coaches, which they said is especially important for those who age out of the system. Fair Futures, a coalition of child welfare nonprofits and agencies, wants to extend the age limit for child welfare services reimbursements from 21 to 26 so young people can continue to take advantage of services such as coaching.
Odds and Ends
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NOW WE KNOW — Some young women are delighted to receive a drugstore teddy bear for Valentine’s Day — a surprise for the intrepid Vox reporter who wanted to know whether anyone actually wants one.
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TODAY’S TIP — Get a couple’s massage with your dog.
MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW Amanda @aeis17, Shannon @ShannonYoung413 and Dan @DanCGoldberg on Twitter. And for all New Jersey health news, check out @samjsutton.
STUDY THIS — New research suggests that more than half of young children poisoned by prescription pills consumed the medications after adult caregivers removed them from childproof safety packaging.
Around New York
SEEKING ANSWERS — The Wall Street Journal reports: “Omar Spencer got a call on Christmas Eve 2018 saying a deceased donor had been identified for his pancreas and kidney transplant. He checked into SUNY Downstate’s affiliated teaching hospital that evening. Thirteen months later, Mr. Spencer, 37 years old, is in a rehabilitative home in the Bronx. He is paralyzed from the waist down and says he doesn’t know how his transplant led to paralysis. The turn of events leading up to Mr. Spencer’s paralysis are now part of a lawsuit—filed not by him, but by a surgeon who was part of his care team.”
MENTHOL BAN — Asian-American organizations and politicians sent a letter to Speaker Corey Johnson urging him to pass a bill that bans the citywide sale of menthol cigarettes. About one in three Korean and Vietnamese men smoke menthols, according to the letter.
HIPAA VIOLATION — WHEC reports: “The victim of a years-long violation of the privacy of her medical records said she wanted to hold Rochester Regional Health accountable. Kristina Ciaccia says former ACM Global Laboratories employee Jessica Meier illegally accessed her medical records hundreds of times over a period of two years, possibly to find embarrassing information for a child custody fight. ACM Global Laboratory is part of Rochester Regional Health.”
RALLY — Nurses with the New York State Nurses Association will rally at Ellis Hospital and Bellevue Woman’s Center in Schenectady on Friday to demand better working conditions and patient care, WAMC reports.
Pharma Report
SHOW ME A BETTER WAY — Missouri officials expanded the state’s Medicaid program to cover chiropractic care, acupuncture, physical therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy in an effort to shift pain management treatment away from prescription opioids. The program’s had limited reach, with just 500 patients accessing those treatments in its first nine months, according to Kaiser Health News.
What We’re Reading
CORONAVIRUS SPIKE — The number of reported coronavirus deaths and infections in China spiked Thursday after Hubei province applied a new classification system to broaden the scope of diagnoses, The Associated Press reports. “The death toll in China reached 1,367, up 254 from the previous day. The number of confirmed cases jumped 15,152 to 59,804.”
PATIENT ZERO — Global health officials are working to identify the “patient zero” who carried coronavirus into a Singapore sales meeting, “which then spread to five countries from South Korea to Spain, infecting over a dozen people,” Reuters reports.
NEW CASE — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday confirmed that a person who had been under quarantine in San Antonio since being evacuated from China has been diagnosed with coronavirus — the 15th case reported in the U.S., the Texas Tribune reports.
WARRANTED CONCERN — Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s positions on health care and Medicare for All damaged her standing among Iowa and New Hampshire voters, according to The Wall Street Journal’s Joshua Jamerson. “A series of attacks over health care by rivals, cautious debate performances by Ms. Warren and liberals’ late-2019 move to Mr. Sanders culminated in a disappointing fourth-place finish Tuesday in New Hampshire — a state that neighbors the one she represents in the Senate and where she led the polls only a few months ago.”
IT’S SEASONAL — NPR reports: “There’s a seasonality to many viruses. Flu and cold viruses tend to peak in winter months, then die down with warmer weather. Will the newly identified coronavirus and the disease it causes — COVID-19 — follow a similar pattern? Before that question can be answered, let’s consider how seasons and temperature influence the spread of viruses.”
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