Your Weekly Dose of Health March 18, 2016

National News:

  • Vice President Joe Biden today appointed Greg Simon as the lead of his cancer “moonshot” program. Mr. Simon previously has worked in the pharmaceutical industry as well as for a health related nonprofit. The cancer program, officially called the Cancer Moonshot Task Force and announced by President Obama at his last State of the Union address, will work to improve access to research data among doctors and speed up the process by which treatments reach the market.
  • A New York Times Editorial called on Congress to spend more money to combat the Zika virus.
  • Federal prosecutors are examining health and safety conditions in New York City’s public housing and homeless shelters.

New York State News:

  • Governor Cuomo announced this week a plan for the state to fight the Zika virus.
  • State Senator Diane Savino introduced four different bills to modify or expand New York’s medical marijuana program.
  • The minimum wage hike Governor Cuomo is proposing may present difficult challenges for health care providers.
  • New York State is the first to require prescriptions to be written electronically, a requirement which goes into effect March 27th. State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker, however, has issued a waiver for some places that do not yet have the proper software.

Upcoming Events:

  • The Manhattan Institute is holding a conference on hospital consolidation and competition in New York State at the Harvard Club on March 23. Read more here.
  • The New York State Public Health Association is holding its 65th annual meeting and conference on April 21st and 22nd. See more here.