While the number of people nationwide needing substance abuse treatment continues to grow, access to treatment combined with a looming physician shortage worsen the issue for patients seeking treatment. This month’s Behind the White Coat explores the need for additional training programs for physicians specializing in substance abuse disorders and spotlights a program at Montefiore…

Congress returns to Washington, DC this week with an uncertain agenda heading into the few months before primary and general election season. GNYHA created this tool to outline our top legislative priorities for the 2020 winter season including Medicaid disproportionate share hospital cuts, surprise billing, graduate medical education, and prescription drug pricing.

GNYHA has learned of 12 vulnerabilities, together known as SWEYNTOOTH, that impact Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology, which, in some instances, are associated with medical devices. Health care organizations are encouraged to take the following preventive actions: Inform users of vulnerabilities and encourage them to report anomalies Request disclosure from medical device manufacturers about their…

New York State’s final budget for State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2021 must include important provisions that would protect New Yorkers from abusive insurance companies that wrongly refuse to pay for medically necessary care and emergency care. GNYHA created this tool to outline key provisions that protect patients and health care providers including: Prohibition on administrative…

GNYHA is seeking hospitals and health systems to participate in our Summer Enrichment Program (SEP), an internship program that promotes racial and ethnic diversity in health care management. I am asking that member institutions participate by sponsoring one or more interns for the summer of 2020. SEP is a 10-week paid internship for students pursuing…

In recognition of the financial strain that many hospitals and health systems are experiencing, coupled with the threat of major Medicaid cuts in Albany, GNYHA is cancelling the 2020 Annual Meeting and Reception that was scheduled for May 12. The decision was made in consultation with our Board Chair and Chair-Elect. In the same spirit…

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released an updated “information collection” notice of its intent to survey hospitals about their acquisition costs for specified covered outpatient drugs acquired under the 340B Drug Discount Program and submitted a request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for final approval. In response to…

The House Ways and Means Committee and House Education and Labor Committee debated and approved proposals to address surprise medical bills. These follow the “compromise proposal” released in December by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR), and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander…

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released two reports on the need for increased oversight of the 340B Drug Pricing Program. Specifically, GAO focused on ensuring that participating hospitals meet eligibility requirements and how the program intersects with the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program. The reports follow efforts by the Trump Administration and Congress in recent…

Twenty-six bilingual mental health professionals from six GNYHA member health systems arrived in Puerto Rico on February 3 to assist people traumatized by months of earthquakes and aftershocks that battered the island’s southern coast. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and GNYHA had called on mental health professionals to volunteer for service in Puerto Rico. During…

GNYHA is supporting members’ ongoing response to novel coronavirus (now called COVID-19), which was first detected in January in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. While there currently are no cases in New York State, there are tens of thousands of cases in China and confirmed cases in 27 additional countries—including 15 cases in the United States—and…