Your Weekly Dose of Health June 19, 2015

Thank you to the NYS Senate and Assembly for passing A.7208/ S. 4893! This legislation clarifies the Prescriber Prevails process in Medicaid Managed Care and eliminates some of the hurdles that patients and prescribers must go through to prevail in medication decisions. We would also like to thank the patients, advocates, and health care providers that weighed-in on this issue. We will remain in touch with you as this legislation heads to Governor Cuomo’s desk for final passage!

As the legislative session in Albany continues, lawmakers have passed several bills on health issues.  These include bills to:

• Allow pregnant women to enroll in New York State’s health exchange at any time, regardless of whether it is an open enrollment period;
• Expand protections for mothers breastfeeding in the workplace;
• Provide early access to medical marijuana for seriously ill patients; and,
• Mandate that all seventh graders in New York be vaccinated for Meningitis.

In other health related news:

• The Department of Justice this week indicted 243 people nationwide for defrauding the government of $712 million through Medicare scams.  Nine New Yorkers are among those indicted.
• NY State of Health, New York’s health exchange, has partnered with SUNY and CUNY to educate recent graduates about the Special Enrollment Period.  Their program is called the Get Grads Covered
• The LA Times looks at the King V. Burwell Supreme Court case concerning health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.  The article details a few different arguments that could sway the Court’s decision.  An Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal examines the political implications of a potential ruling for the plaintiffs.