Good morning and welcome to the weekly edition of the New York Health Care newsletter, where we keep you posted on what’s coming up this week in health care news, and offer a look back at the important news from last week.
New Yorkers (and Americans
The state Office of Mental Health, which has been working with a 150-plus-member coalition to prepare for the free hotline’s launch in New York, stressed that it will be “more than a ‘suicide line” as it offers supports for anyone who is experiencing emotional distress and for those worried about someone in distress. (In New York City, Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan said in May that officials were working to connect 988 with NYC Well, the city’s mental health hotline.)
The launch of the 988 hotline will come just one week after Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the availability of $71 million to develop 12 supportive crisis stabilization centers for New Yorkers with mental health and substance-use-related issues. (Proposals are due in early October.)
Glenn Liebman, CEO of the Mental Health Association of New York State said in a recent statement that the “Stabilization Centers will provide a much-needed bridge between 988 and community services.” Harvey Rosenthal, CEO of the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services agreed that they “will provide a critically important follow up resource for those using the state’s new 9-8-8 mental health hotline.”
OMH received a 988 implementation grant in 2020 to create a two-year implementation plan for the state as part of a nationwide planning effort, as well as federal funding. The state budget, meanwhile, included $35 million for the 2022-23 fiscal year, which will increase to $60 million in 2023-24.
OMH said the initial funding “is being used to expand capacity in 13 existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Contact Centers and create two additional Contact Centers in the North Country and Capital Region.”
ALBANY AGENDA:
— The Public Health and Health Planning Council’s Committee on Establishment and Project Review will meet Thursday in Albany.
— The Drug Utilization Review Board is scheduled to meet Thursday in Albany.
— The Cannabis Control Board will also meet Thursday.
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CANCER STUDY — State health officials are not recommending that Northport residents take special measures to prevent cancer after an investigation launched in 2019 failed to find higher rates of leukemia in the community as a whole, POLITICO’s Shannon Young reports.
The Department of Health, which released the results of its probe last week, said investigators did not identify anything that could account for the unusually high number of leukemia cases in the Northport High School class of 2016 on an individual basis. It also found that rates for some cancers were higher than expected, while rates for others were fewer than expected.
“Based on our investigation, we do not believe that there is cause for alarm,” the agency said. “It is possible that the higher number of leukemia cases found in the Northport HS class of 2016 is due to chance. This investigation did not suggest any avenues for further investigation. We don’t believe that further investigation is warranted.”
DOH was asked to investigate the occurrence of all cancer types among people living in the Northport-East Northport School District in Suffolk County after several members of the Class of 2016 were diagnosed with cancer. It discussed the findings in a Thursday evening briefing.
MONKEYPOX ROLLOUT — Two days after the city botched registrations for monkeypox vaccines, thousands of doses remain unclaimed, POLITICO’s Amanda Eisenberg reports.
Only about 2,500 people were able to nab appointments for the nearly 6,000 doses up for grabs on Wednesday — before technical glitches brought down the website for scheduling such appointments. No one has been able to make appointments since, and Health Department officials said Thursday that the doses would be available “early next week.” City Hall said appointments would open Tuesday, but couldn’t say why all the doses were not made immediately available.
COVID WARNING SYSTEM — Mayor Eric Adams defended his decision to nix a color-coded Covid-19 risk-alert index Thursday — as cases continued to rise, Amanda and Shannon report. The system allowed New Yorkers to gauge their risk of infection at a glance, by color-coding transmission rates and the pressure on the hospital system using green, yellow, orange or red markers.
IN OTHER NEWS:
— Assembly Republicans accused Gov. Kathy Hochul of “stalling” a report examining the state’s Covid-19 response. Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay said in a Friday statement that the governor “has a moral responsibility to get to the bottom of what happened.” He called on her “to fully investigate the state’s pandemic response, fix prior mistakes and help our state finally heal.”
… The governor told reporters in late May that her administration is working with outside consultants “to examine every aspect of the pandemic: the good, the bad and the ugly.”
WE LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU: This roundup is for you! Send news tips, health tips, ideas, criticisms and corrections to [email protected] and [email protected].
NOW WE KNOW — Stress can affect your sleep quality and even your dreams.
TODAY’S TIP — Don’t use expired sunscreen as it can increase your chances of getting sunburned.
MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW Amanda @aeis17 and Shannon @ShannonYoung413 on Twitter. And for all New Jersey health news, check out Daniel Han, @danieljhan_.
STUDY THIS — A new study suggests that childhood obesity rates have increased in the U.S., CNN reports.
The Times Union looks at how “easier access to guns correlates with increased suicides.”
“The public benefit corporation that runs Nassau University Medical Center suffered a record operating loss of $135.6 million in 2021, according to a new audit,” Newsday reports.
New York City health officials are again recommending mask-wearing in indoor public settings as Covid-19 cases rise.
The National Institutes of Health is looking to enroll about 40,000 people in a $1.15 billion, four-year study on long Covid.
“The surge of calls for special legislative sessions to pass abortion laws is an unusual occurrence in modern U.S. history, according to experts,” Kaiser Health News reports.
Social media is sparking a new conversation around gastrointestinal problems.
Ghana has reported two suspected cases of Marburg virus, an infectious disease similar to Ebola, according to the World Health Organization.
POLITICO’s Ruth Reader and Ben Leonard report that demand for pills that end pregnancy has skyrocketed in states that have restricted abortion since the Supreme Court decision last month, and abortion clinics are reporting a rush for appointments in towns bordering those states.
President Joe Biden signed an executive order directing his health department to expand access to abortion pills, beef up enforcement of Obamacare’s birth control coverage mandate and organize a cadre of pro bono lawyers to help defend people criminally charged for seeking or providing the procedure, POLITICO’s Alice Miranda Ollstein reports.
Lis Smith, a Democratic strategist, offers POLITICO Magazine “an insider’s account on the fall” of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in an adapted excerpt from her forthcoming book, “Any Given Tuesday.”
Progressive Democrats are eyeing must-pass defense legislation as the next battleground to protect abortion rights following the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, a longshot move that reflects the fierce push within the party to fight for abortion access, POLITICO’s Lawrence Ukenye, Connor O’Brien and Sarah Ferris report.
POLITICO’s Arek Sarkissian reports that more than 150 people testified about a proposed rule on Friday that would block Florida’s Medicaid program from covering transition-related medical care, including dozens of people who oppose the treatment for children.
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