Gotham Gazette

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Health care

Health care

  • As Senate Approves ‘Coverage for All,’ Focus Shifts to Assembly on Health Coverage for Undocumented New Yorkers

    Inside the State Senate (photo: NYS Senate Media Services)


    In the final days of the legislative session in Albany last week, the State Senate passed a bill that would expand healthcare access to hundreds of thousands of low-income New Yorkers regardless of their immigration status. But the State Assembly ran out of time and adjourned without taking up the bill and now faces pressure to approve it when it returns to address unfinished business on June 20 and 21. 

    On Thursday, the Senate approved the “Coverage for All”

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  • Where is the State Legislation at Center of Mayor Adams’ Jordan Neely Response?

    Mayor Adams releases a mental health plan (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    On May 10, Mayor Eric Adams made his first extended remarks on the death of Jordan Neely, a Black homeless man with a history of mental illness who was killed on the subway ten days earlier by Daniel Penny, a white Marine veteran.

    Adams called Neely's killing a "tragedy," and said he "did not deserve to die." But Neely didn't receive critical mental health care, Adams said, which left him decompensating and calling for help on a subway car in the minutes

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  • Max Politics Podcast: Senator Gustavo Rivera on the New State Budget

    Senator Gustavo Rivera (photo: NYS Senate Media Services)


    May 4, 2023 - Max Politics Podcast: Senator Gustavo Rivera on the New State Budget

    State Senator Gustavo Rivera, a Bronx Democrat and chair of the Senate health committee, joined the show to discuss the newly-passed $229 billion state budget for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, which began April 1.

    Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think, on Twitter @TweetBenMax. You can listen to the show through the embedded audio below or download the episode wherever you

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  • It Could Take Years to Restore Hospital Psychiatric Beds Statewide, Records Show

    Gov. Hochul talks health care (photo: office of Governor Kathy Hochul)


    It could take years and tens of millions of dollars for upstate hospitals to restore more than 200 psychiatric beds that were shuttered in recent years, owing to major operating deficits and an industry-wide staffing shortage with no end in sight, according to records obtained by Gotham Gazette.

    The delays throw a wrench in Governor Kathy Hochul's plan to restore 1,050 psychiatric beds that had been closed or repurposed statewide during the pandemic – a

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  • Everyone Deserves the Chance for a Life-Saving Organ Transplant If They Need It

    Emergency (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Imagine that one day you wake up with a slight cough. Thinking it is a cold or allergies, you take over-the-counter cough medicine, cough drops, and even at-home remedies. Five months later, nothing seems to be working and, at your wife’s urging, you finally go to the doctor. He runs several tests and a few weeks later you get a call to come back to

    Expanded Health Coverage is a Win for All; State Leaders Should Include it in Final Budget Deal

    A health care push (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Recent estimates suggest that there are approximately 245,000 New Yorkers — our friends, caregivers, laborers, and neighbors who do not have health insurance simply because they do not have a qualifying immigration status. With the three-year mark of the first known COVID-19 case in New York in our rear view, we now know all too well the importance of a strong healthcare delivery system, investments in public and population health, and access to healthcare. 

    Because of

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  • New Yorkers Deserve Health Equity; Fully Funding Safety Net Hospitals and Expanding Health Insurance to All is How To Do It

    Advocates rally for the Coverage for All bill in Albany (photo: Daniel Altschuler/@altochulo)


    After the last three years, New York’s health care system continues to face an unprecedented crisis – particularly for safety net hospitals located in historically marginalized communities that primarily serve uninsured patients struggling to access care. These are the same low-income neighborhoods that bore the brunt of COVID-19 and have long suffered from the effects of New York’s two-tiered health care system. To reduce health inequities, the State must fix the

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  • State Leaders Must Head Off Impending Safety-Net Health Care Crisis

    Gov. Hochul visits health care providers (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)


    With her 2023 agenda, it’s clear Governor Kathy Hochul wants to be seen as a champion for New Yorkers who face significant health disparities. But for all she pledges to do, she’s failing to rise to the challenge to address a serious health care crisis coming this April.

    On April 1, the state will divert funding away from safety net providers like mine —

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  • Despite State Budget Funding, Little Progress Bringing Psychiatric Beds Back Into Service

    Hospital staff (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    New York State has made little progress bringing 1,000 shuttered psychiatric beds back into service after they were closed during the covid pandemic, raising questions about a signature element of the mental health and public safety agendas of Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams.

    In the April budget, Hochul and the Legislature allocated $27.5 million in state funding, matched by federal dollars, to restore the roughly 1,050 psychiatric beds shifted at the height of the pandemic when hospitals scrambled to make room for the

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  • New York Overpaid $194 Million for Medicaid During the Pandemic, Comptroller Audit Finds

    Then-Gov. Cuomo holds a health care meeting (photo: Philip Kamrass/Governor's Office)


    New York State overpaid more than $194 million in Medicaid payments during the pandemic after state officials failed to move eligible recipients to a cheaper funding plan, according to the Office of State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

    An audit of Medicaid payments from March 2021 to March 2022 found the state Department of Health continued to pay higher premiums to care management organizations even after receiving federal authorization to move some Medicaid recipients to a different plan at a fraction of

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  • Our Behavioral Healthcare System is in Crisis; Here’s How We Fix It

    Getting help (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Very often patients with serious issues such as active hallucinations, self-harm behavior, severe depression, and suicidality wait for days in common spaces or crowded hospital hallways for observation or the next available inpatient psychiatric bed. I’ve seen patients in need of hospitalization far exceed available beds in New York City.  For someone experiencing a mental health crisis, such an experience can be traumatic and triggering. It impacts quality of care and prolongs and complicates treatment. It

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  • New York Must Expand the Definition of Primary Care Provider; The Governor Can Sign the Bill to Make It Happen

    Gov. Hochul visits health care professionals (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)


    Preventive health and primary care are the key to a healthy population, and programs like Medicaid are essential for New York State’s most vulnerable people to access this care. Unfortunately, in New York, physician assistants (PAs) are not recognized as primary care providers (PCPs) for Medicaid managed care patients.

    And while I personally provide this care daily to this very patient population, this lack of recognition prevents

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  • ‘You Come Back a Year Later and Fight for More’: Retiring Dick Gottfried Reflects on 52 Years in the State Assembly

    Assemblymember Dick Gottfried (photo: @cannaparade)


    After 52 years as a member of the New York State Assembly, Richard “Dick” Gottfried is retiring. His half-century career makes him the longest-serving Assembly member in New York State history, a journey that began in 1970. A Democrat representing the 75th Assembly District, which includes parts of Manhattan’s West Side, Gottfried will also be leaving his post as chair of the Assembly Health Committee, which he has held for a mere 35 years, since 1987.

    Gottfried announced his

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  • Leveraging the Power of Health Care Spending to Build Community Wealth in Brooklyn

    Local health care spending spurs economic activity (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    As leaders of two of Brooklyn’s largest health systems – representing six hospitals, employing almost 14,000 individuals, and with combined non-personnel spending of over $655M per year – we understand firsthand the role healthcare institutions play in supporting the health and wealth of our communities. This is why we have made an unprecedented commitment to procure 10% of our non-clinical goods and services from local minority- and women-owned businesses (MWBEs) by

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  • City Council Examines Bills to Address Maternal Health, Racial Disparities in Reproductive Care

    City Council hearing on maternal health (photo: Emil Cohen/NYC Council)


    At a hearing this past week, New York City Council Members discussed a package of legislation related to maternal health, mortality, and morbidity and seeking to address healthcare inequities as well as the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade constitutional abortion protections. The joint hearing held by the Council’s Committee on Health and Committee on Hospitals dealt with...

  • The Governor Must Act to Protect Health Care for LGBTQ New Yorkers

    Gov. Hochul at a Pride parade (photo: Don Pollard/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)


    As we celebrate Pride Month, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) has just released asobering report revealing the startling health disparities faced by LGBTQI+ New Yorkers. We need continued action to advance equity in our health-care system.

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  • The Right to Reproductive Health in the Wake of Roe

    Health care (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is an affront to the key principles of United States citizenry by failing to protect the life, liberty, autonomy, and health of those who can become pregnant. The recent cascade of total bans or severe restrictions on abortion is not based on science, but ideological biases, and is clearing a legislative path to a draconian future in reproductive freedom and health.

    The ramifications of this decision on health

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  • Max Politics Podcast: Dick Gottfried on 52 Years in the State Assembly

    Assemblymember Dick Gottfried (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)


    June xx, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: Dick Gottfried on 52 Years in the State Legislature

    Assemblymember Dick Gottfried is retiring after 52 years in the Legislature. He joined the show to reflect on his tenure, including 35 years chairing the Assembly health committee, how state government has changed over time, his major accomplishments, the New York Health Act, and more.

    Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think, on Twitter ...

  • How New York Must Build Back a Better Primary Care System

     

    Mayor Adams gets health care (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    If you spotted a nickel on the ground, would you stop to pick it up? Probably not—it seems too small, too insignificant. Why bother?

    But that small amount is how we value primary care within the context of our whole health care system. It is estimated that only5–7

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  • Winning the Public Health Recovery from Covid

    Mayor Adams visits health care workers (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    In its battle against COVID-19, New York City, even under a notably disorganized mayor, arrived at an impressive level of health organization. As may be recalled, Mayor de Blasio switched the lead role in the covid fight to Health + Hospitals, the city’s public hospital system, from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), which retained major responsibilities but not its usual lead position in epidemics. It is to the credit of both agencies that, under this forced and

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  • We’re Assembly Members, Healthcare Experts, Women of Color, Mothers, and Fed Up: It’s Time to Pass the New York Health Act

    "Healthcare is a right" (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    The fact is, New York’s profit-driven health-care system continues to fail marginalized communities like those we represent in the State Legislature. As a matter of racial and gender justice, we must finally pass single-payer health care this state legislative session.

    Before we were elected to office, we each worked in or around New York’s health-care system – Assemblymember Reyes as an oncology nurse, Assemblymember Forrest as a maternal-child health nurse,

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  • A Stronger Social Safety Net in the Next New York City Budget

    Getting local help (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    The COVID-19 pandemic revealed glaring gaps and limitations in New York City’s social safety net, leaving many low-income families struggling to meet basic needs. As the city rebuilds from the pandemic’s destructive economic and health consequences, investing in social services should be at the core of our recovery plan. Moreover, it will be crucial to invest in the community-based organizations (CBOs) that help connect communities to these services.

    New York's Home Care System is on the Verge of Collapse; It Can Be Fixed in the State Budget

    A rally for Fair Pay for Home Care (photo: @JFREJNYC)


    For people with disabilities and older New Yorkers, home care is the lifeline that enables them to stay in their homes and lead independent lives. Right now, the home care sector faces an alarming workforce crisis, jeopardizing the availability of at-home assistance and community living that enable people with disabilities and older New Yorkers to live their lives with dignity.

    We are facing a growing demand to increase the home care workforce. While agencies

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  • Max Politics Podcast: Senator Gustavo Rivera on Crunch-Time State Budget Negotiations

    State Senator Gustavo Rivera (photo: NYS Senate Media Services)


    March 30, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: Senator Gustavo Rivera on State Budget Negotiations

    State Senator Gustavo Rivera, a Bronx Democrat and chair of the Senate health committee, joined the show to discuss final state budget negotiations, touching on a variety of key issues, as well as the overarching process, Mayor Adams' Albany agenda, and more.

    Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think, on Twitter @TweetBenMax. You can listen to the

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  • New York Leaders Must Not Let Health Insurance Companies Coopt Patient Protection Law

    Seeking health care (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    In 2014, New York became the first state toenact a law addressing surprise medical bills. Congress followed suit in 2020 with the

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