Your Weekly Dose of Health May 8, 2015

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio released his $78.3 billion Fiscal Year 2016 Executive Budget.  It includes $54 million in spending to improve the city’s mental health services.  This has been a major campaign for First Lady Chirlane McCray.

Capital New York details investment in a healthcare program called the State Health Information Network for New York (SHIN-NY, pronounced ‘shiny’) that will be a major health information sharing network.  The problem is that health data is not shared between patients and doctors.  In addition, security issues and privacy make health data even more complicated.  This new program would create a central space where patient info can be viewed by any doctor allowed to see it.  According to the article, SHIN-NY would, if successful, make New York a health information technology leader.

New York Times piece that shows the down side of high deductible insurance.  The writer argues that higher deductibles can cause patients to cut down on their prescription medications.

The Federal Department of Health will grant NYS over $4 million to help build six community health centers.

16.9 million Americans have enrolled in health insurance since the roll out of the Affordable Care Act.