Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Health care

Health care

  • Under New Leadership and Oversight, City’s Hospital System in Spotlight

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    Council Member Carlina Rivera (photo: @NYCCouncil)


    The new CEO of the city’s beleaguered Health + Hospitals (H+H) public hospital system, Dr. Mitchell Katz, testified in front of the City Council’s new hospitals committee, and its chair, Carlina Rivera, for the first time on Wednesday, discussing the progress of the “One New York” plan to 'transform' and improve the system.

    H+H is a

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  • What's The [Data] Point? $72.4 Billion, with Charles Brecher

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    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 30 -- $72.4 Billion, with Charles Brecher [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    wtdp w cbrecher 120

    Health care

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  • Community Health Centers, Essential But At Risk, Must Be Funded Now

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    Doctors and nurses (photo via @NYCHealthSystem)


    It is no secret that a war is here – a war on immigrants, on LGBTQ people, and communities of color, on the 99%, and more. Health, a part of politics that affects all facets of life, has suffered a brutal onslaught. While some of 2017’s greatest grassroots successes were in defeating Affordable Care Act repeal efforts, recent federal tax overhauls and budget proposals threaten to further strain a healthcare system millions have come to rely on.

    Lost in the conversation have been critical

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  • Amid Health Care Funding Fights, Cuomo Explores Special Session

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    Gov. Cuomo with top health and budget aides (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)


    Governor Andrew Cuomo has been floating the idea of a special legislative session to address federal cuts to the state’s health care programs, as well as other concerns that have developed, since the state budget was agreed to in April.

    In that budget, Cuomo pushed to include and won a provision granting him nearly unilateral power to adjust the state’s financial plan mid-year in the event of at least $800 million in federal cuts to the state. In April, the governor

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  • A Victory for School Based Health Centers, But More To Do

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    Assemblymembers Carroll & Simon, the authors (photo via @Bobby4Brooklyn)


    School based health centers (SBHCs) are a critical safety net for immigrants and the uninsured. There are 145 SBHCs serving students in more than 345 schools across the city, regardless of their ability to pay. SBHCs provide primary and preventive care, reproductive and mental health care, and first aid; manage chronic illnesses; and more. From asthma and diabetes to food allergies and anxiety, these clinics can make the difference between life and death for many of our schoolchildren.

    The

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  • 100 Years Later, Planned Parenthood of NYC is Still Growing to Meet New Yorkers’ Needs

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    PPNYC celebrates 100 years with First Lady McCray


    One hundred years ago, in 1916, Planned Parenthood of New York City (PPNYC) opened in Brownsville, Brooklyn as a small birth control clinic. Since then, PPNYC has grown to five health centers—one in each borough—and provides sexual and reproductive health care services and information to more than 64,000 New Yorkers each year, and reaches another 25,000 through our extensive sex education programs.

    Incredible gains have been made over the past century. PPNYC has been at the forefront of increasing access to birth

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  • To Prevent Zika Threats, Reproductive Health Care is Necessary

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    City's health commissioner, Dr. Mary Bassett, discusses Zika (photo: @nychealthy)


    As the Zika virus continues to make headlines around the world, it is crucial that our city, state and federal governments do all that they can to prevent the spread of Zika. This is especially important in New York City, home to approximately 25% of the cases in the United States.   

    Our elected officials are doing just that. The Mayor’s Office has unveiled ...

  • A Budget for the City of Immigrants

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    Students of an adult literacy class (photo: Make the Road New York)


    In recent years, New York City has taken major strides forward in its engagement with immigrant communities. Under the leadership of Mayor Bill de Blasio, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, and the Council as a whole, our city has adopted and invested in new initiatives to welcome and protect immigrants and embrace their tremendous economic, cultural, and political contributions.

    Now, with the 2017 budget process in final negotiations, our leaders have a key

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  • Home Care Workers Need a Dedicated Advocate

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    photo via PHI 


    Nearly 175,000 New York City residents go to work each day in the homes of New Yorkers who are elderly or living with disabilities. Predominantly immigrant women of color, these aides assist with personal care, medications and other health-related tasks, meals, housekeeping, and a variety of other activities. They are crucial to keeping people who are frail or suffering from chronic illnesses healthy, safe, and independent. They have become vital to system reform efforts intended to improve the health of New Yorkers while also reducing costly and unnecessary visits

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  • Clarity on the City's Investment in Health + Hospitals

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    (photo via Health + Hospitals on Facebook)


    New York City Health + Hospitals is a model public system, the country’s oldest and largest commitment to safety-net health care. Yet Mayor Bill de Blasio’s recent plan to shore up finances at Health + Hospitals has led to consternation from those who would have us believe that H+H is an oversized and outdated system.

    In a recent New York Daily News column, Errol Louis made this

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  • Stand Against Racism, Protect Asian-American Women's Health

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    Council Member Chin, one of the authors (photo: William Alatriste)


    New York City has the opportunity to support Asian-Americans and women's health by opposing deceptively named, so-called "sex-selective abortion bans."

    These attacks on a woman's right to choose are wolves in sheep's clothing. At a glance, such bans might sound like laws meant to further women's rights. But they actually do just the opposite.

    The tragic reality of "son preference" has been a serious issue in some countries, such as India and China, where women do not

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  • As Healthcare Landscape Changes, City Hospital Authority Charts New Path

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    HHC's Dr. Raju (photo: @RamRajuMD) 


    New York City’s Health and Hospitals Corporation was thrust into the spotlight a year ago when, last October, its Bellevue Hospital treated Craig Spencer, the doctor who

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  • Amid Federal Brinksmanship, New York City Officials Redouble Support for Planned Parenthood

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    NYC First Lady Chirlane McCray at a Planned Parenthood rally (photo: @Chirlane) 


    In the face of federal debate and brinksmanship over funding for Planned Parenthood, many in New York City have doubled down on support for the women's health care organization.

    In the past month, the city has seen the...