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Quick Fix
— Gov. Andrew Cuomo will unveil his new executive budget today, including details on how he plans to close the state’s $4 billion Medicaid budget gap.
— The governor is also expected to use his 1 p.m. budget address to further detail his plans to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use and other proposals noted in his recent State of the State speech.
— The Senate and Assembly this week are expected to advance bills to crack down on vaping and flavored tobacco products. The push comes just days after the Cuomo administration announced that two women have died from vaping-related illnesses.
Policy and Politics
MEDICAID BUDGET — POLITICO’s Shannon Young: Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget proposal is likely to call for sweeping changes to Medicaid, particularly in how the program runs long-term managed care, a major driver of health care spending in the state. Cuomo, who will unveil his budget in Tuesday afternoon, also is expected to lay out the bulk of the $1.8 billion in Medicaid cuts that his administration has said will take place before the current fiscal year ends in March. The governor has to bridge a $4 billion budget deficit in the Medicaid program. Although Cuomo has been tight-lipped about his plans to address Medicaid spending, he hinted at changes to the program’s local share and called for a new Medicaid Redesign Team effort in his State of the State address earlier this month.
— Cuomo told reporters Monday that “there are structural issues that need to be addressed in the growth of the Medicaid program, and there are structural issues within some of these programs, especially the long-term health care management that have to be addressed.”
“You run a system for a period of time, looking at it, analyzing it, finding efficiencies — that is a good thing,” he said, adding that the deficit “means the shortfall against projected growth.”
VAPE DEATHS — POLITICO’s Amanda Eisenberg: Two women have died from a vaping-related illness in the state, putting the number of confirmed deaths in New York at four, the Cuomo administration announced Friday. The state determined the women — a 20-something from New York City and an Ontario County resident in her 50s — died of vaping-related illnesses “based on an extensive review.”
— POLITICO’s Sarah Owermohle: The explosion of e-cigarette use among young people played a big role in the outbreak of vaping-related lung illnesses that’s killed at least 57 people and sickened more than 2,600, a CDC official wrote Friday. Though the illness, dubbed EVALI, is largely linked to illegal marijuana vapes, its come as teen vaping rates for nicotine and THC products alike have sharply risen.
… They are “two distinct but related epidemics” that have predominantly impacted young people, wrote Brian King, CDC deputy director for research translation in the Office on Smoking and Health, in a New England Journal of Medicine editorial. “It’s likely that the widespread use of e-cigarettes, including products that facilitate THC use, has created an environment that has fueled the EVALI epidemic.”
Odds and Ends
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NOW WE KNOW — Tech bros are turning to Botox and plastic surgery to look energized and youthful, The Washington Post reports.
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TODAY’S TIP — Start your day with lemon water, which aids digestion, helps you stay hydrated and can prevent kidney stones.
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 — People who have an undocumented family member deported are nearly four times more likely to develop a substance use disorder, according to a study published in Science Direct.
Around New York
AWAITING ANSWERS — The Wall Street Journal reports: “Officials representing New York’s hospitals, nursing homes, counties and insurance plans are bracing for reductions to Medicaid funding as Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposes a new state budget this week.”
POT WARS — Cuomo’s new budget, which is also expected to detail his plan to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use, will set the stage for another round of battles over the contentious issue in Albany, The Buffalo News reports.
TAX SOLUTION? — The Times Union reports: “The New York State Conference of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans recently released a report showing that the state collected about $5.2 billion from four taxes on private health insurance last year. With the state facing a $6.1 billion budget gap, largely due to increased Medicaid costs, the group fears these taxes – which it says are only imposed in New York – could be increased to fill the hole.”
THAT COULD HELP — State of Politics reports: “Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office on Friday released a package of audits of aspects of the Medicaid program, finding $790 million in potential savings. The four audits come as New York faces a $6.1 billion budget gap in the coming fiscal year, which begins April 1.”
‘AID IN DYING’ — Advocates for so-called “Medical Aid in Dying” will be at the Legislative Office Building this week to urge lawmakers and state officials to back their legislation.
HOMELESS DEATHS — Gothamist reports: “Four hundred four people considered homeless in New York City died between July of 2018 and June of last year, 39 percent more than the prior year, the largest year over year increase in a decade. They died in hospitals, shelters, outside the entrance of a building, on a subway car, in an abandoned building, and in a vacant lot. The majority of them were middle-aged men. Many were plagued by drug addictions, alcoholism, heart disease, and more.”
SCREENING — Some Chinese travelers will be screened for a mysterious new virus that’s killed two and sickened dozens at three airports, including John F. Kennedy International Airport, Business Insider reports.
SEE YOU IN COURT — Evelyn Yang, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, told CNN last week that she was sexually assaulted by Dr. Robert Hadden, her OB/GYN at Columbia University, when she was pregnant in 2012. She is one of more than 30 women suing the university and Hadden over his alleged misconduct, The Cut reports.
STOP PROSECUTIONS — Progressive district attorneys are declining to prosecute people who use drugs. One Manhattan DA candidate wants to stop prosecuting drug dealers, Slate reports.
Pharma Report
UNREPORTED — Reuters reports: “Fewer than half of clinical trial sponsors reported their results to a U.S. government registry within a year of the trial’s completion, flouting U.S. law and risking fines.”
A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR — A growing body of evidence suggests placebos can improve the livelihood of chronic pain patients, even if they know they’re not taking an active medication, writes The Wall Street Journal’s Sumathi Reddy. “It is a possibility that seems important, and may offer relief for many people who are getting insufficient relief or have too many side effects on the medication they take,” says Ted J. Kaptchuk, director of the Program in Placebo Studies and Therapeutic Encounter at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
What We’re Reading
ACA CHALLENGE — The Associated Press reports: “The Supreme Court will consider allowing the Trump administration to enforce rules that allow more employers to deny insurance coverage for contraceptives to women. The justices agreed Friday to yet another case stemming from President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, this time about cost-free birth control.”
NOT SO HOT — A new study suggests that the average normal human-body temperature is closer to 97.5 degrees Fahrenheit — not 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, The Wall Street Journal reports.
NEONATICIDE CAUSES — Elle investigates what leads up to neonaticide over a nine-month period.
NEW FELONY? — Bustle reports: “Medical professionals who provide affirming health care to transgender minors would be charged with a felony under a bill South Dakota lawmakers introduced on Jan. 14.”
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