Your Weekly Dose of Health July 22, 2016
** Please join us on August 3rd from 12 pm – 1 pm at West Capitol Park (facing S. Swan Street in Albany) for the “Don’t Fail Us” Rally, as we call on Governor Cuomo to sign the Step Therapy legislation, A.2834D (Titone) / S.3419C (Young), into law!
** We also ask that you take the time to call Governor Cuomo at 518-474-8390 and urge him to sign this legislation into law, as it’s in the best interest of New York patients and providers! Click here for more information on Step Therapy.
National News:
- The Justice Department is trying to prevent two potential mergers between some of the largest health insurers. Anthem is proposing to buy Cigna while Aetna wants to merge with Humana. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said at a press conference that the mergers would reduce the entire healthcare industry to just three “mammoth” companies, which would undermine competition.
- MIT economist and former Affordable Care Act (ACA) consultant Jonathan Gruber writes in Politico about the state of the ACA – what has worked, what hasn’t and what has surprised him in the two-and-a-half years since the major components of the law went into effect.
- Senator Chuck Schumer is calling for a ban on synthetic marijuana and has proposed a new bill to do so.
New York State News:
- Governor Cuomo announced this week a new rule that all nail salons must have ventilation systems to protect workers from the chemicals in the products they use.
- Governor Cuomo also signed a couple health related bills into law this week. One piece of legislation grants paid leave to all public employees for prostate cancer screenings. The other is a bill to eliminate the sales tax for feminine hygiene products.
Upcoming Events:
- The Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care is hosting the 7th international conference on patient and family centered care on July 25th through the 27th. More details here.
- The United Hospital Fund is holding its 2016 Gala on September 26th at the Waldorf-Astoria. See more here.