Weekly Dose of Health News September 15 – 19, 2014

Headlines in this week’s Dose include: An uptick in the smoking rates in New York City; news from Albany on new legislation to increase access to Hepatitis C testing; new funding associated with behavioral health facility closures upstate and the NYS Department of Health’s launch of its NYS Health Profiles consumers website, designed to provide information on hospitals, nursing homes, hospice and home health care agencies and physicians. For more, read on in your Weekly Dose of Health News.

The New York Times editorializes that health insurance premiums have stabilized for employer-based coverage over the last five months.

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According to the New York City Health Department, smoking rates are on the rise, by over two percentage points since 2007.

The United States has committed to a plan for prevention and treatment of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa., which includes the addition of 3,000 American troops.

The number of uninsured Americans has fallen by eight percentage points since the start of the Affordable Care Act in January.

MVP Health Care has dropped coverage for 17,000 Medicare Advantage consumers. MVP discontinued two of five Advantage plans and has said that consumers in the remaining three plans will be required to pay more in co-pays and possibly more in premiums, according to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation this week designed to increase access to Hepatitis C testing. The new law, sponsored by Senator Kemp Hannon and Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski allows physicians and nurse practitioners to authorize registered nurses to administer Hep C tests. The new law is an adjunct to a 2013 law that requires the offering of a Hep C test to persons born between 1945 and 1965.

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced funding for community health care providers under the Vital Access/Safety Net Provider Program. Recipients include upstate hospitals, and a Long Island and Brooklyn facility as well as nursing homes.

New York State of Health is hosting a conference entitled “Payment Reform: Expanding the Playing Field” onOctober 30 in New York City.

The Urban Institute released several new reports this week, including two on small group health insurance premium variations, preventive service utilization by adults in Medicaid programs and preventive service utilization by children in Medicaid and CHIP.

The New York State Department of Health announced the launch of their NYS Health Profiles website, which is a site for consumers designed to provide information on hospitals, nursing homes, hospice and home health care agencies and physicians.

The New York Office of Mental Health has announced new funding associated with behavioral health facilityclosures in five upstate counties.

The New York Times writes on how health insurers are shifting drug costs to patients, including trying to steer patients away from both brand name and generic drugs.