Since its enactment six years ago, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”) has faced numerous challenges from Republicans attempting to repeal the law. Though previous efforts, through both legislation and litigation, have been unsuccessful, the election of Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress likely portends at least a partial repeal of the

New York’s junior senator, Kristin Gillibrand, joined with New Jersey senator Cory Booker and Kentucky senator Rand Paul to introduce a bill that would decriminalize marijuana, removing the threat of federal prosecution for the growth and manufacture of medical marijuana in states that allow for it, including New York. 

The bill addresses many issues medical

On Wednesday Governor Andrew Cuomo laid out his proposed 2015-16 executive budget in his State of the State address. The executive budget proposes multiple changes to New York’s current healthcare laws, most notably regarding diagnostic and treatment centers (“DTC”), urgent care facilities, office-based surgery centers (“OBS”), and revisions to the Certificate of Need (“CON”) process.                                  

The New York State Department of Health (the “DOH”) released regulations which implement 2012 legislation expanding Accountable Care Organizations (“ACOs”) in New York State. The regulations create a new part of the New York Code of Rules and Regulations (“NYCRR”), Part 1003 under Title 10, which would lay the frame work under which ACOs will

Earlier this year, Governor Cuomo signed into law a bill that will allow New York to join 22 other states and the District of Columbia by allowing residents of the state to purchase and use marijuana for medicinal purposes. However, as with the many other states that allow for the use of medical marijuana, the

After months of negotiation, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on February 13th that New York State has reached an agreement in principle for the Medicaid redesign waiver the Cuomo administration had long-sought. The waiver will allow the state to reinvest $8 billion of federal savings generated by the State back into programs designed to improve health

Governor Cuomo’s budget contains many proposed changes to the Public Health Law (some of which are discussed here), but another set of significant changes that will affect providers and patients is contained in the Insurance Law. The Transportation, Economic Development, and Environmental Conservation (“TED”) Article VII bill contains proposed legislative changes that would alter the

Governor Cuomo recently announced his 2014-15 executive budget for New York State. The new budget contains some relevant legislative changes for healthcare within the State, including a pilot program for private business to partner with academic medical centers to own or operate hospitals, an expansion of office-based surgery (“OBS”), and expansion of urgent care services. 

Long wait times and difficulty for a patient to get convenient doctor’s appointments have long been issues for patients seeking medical treatment.  The expansion of individuals with health insurance due to the Affordable Care Act will cause the issue to grow as more individuals have access to health care services they previously did not.  With

On Friday, January 24th, Judge B. Lynn Winmill blocked the acquisition of Saltzer Medical Group (“Saltzer”) by St. Luke’s Health System (“St. Luke’s”) in Idaho.  The District Court Judge held that the merger violated antitrust laws, and allowing the merger to remain in place would give St. Luke’s greater bargaining leverage with health plans and

The Public Health and Health Planning Council (the “Council”) voted on January 7th to approve its report on ambulatory services (the “Report,” viewable here), completing an initial step in the process of expanding and reforming ambulatory service clinics in New York.1

The Report seeks to regulate various classes of ambulatory service centers in the State.

The New York State Public Health and Health Planning Council (the “Council”) recently released a draft report on ambulatory care services, including most notably a discussion of retail clinics, urgent care centers, and freestanding emergency departments. The report was reviewed at a full meeting of the Council on December 12th, and is slated to be

On December 9th, the Department of Health (“DOH”), the Office of Mental Health (“OMH”), and the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (“OASAS”) released a Request for Information (“RFI”) and a draft Request for Qualifications (“RFQ”) for Health and Recovery Programs (“HARPs”) as part of the efforts of the Behavioral Health Workgroup of the