The National Black Harm Reduction Network to Host “Know Your Supply: A Black Harm Reduction Dialogue” on Tuesday, July 29th at 11:00

Drug checking technologies including spectrometers are being used more than ever before in syringe service programs and community-based organizations across NYS. Centering Black voices, this discussion will “explore the role of drug checking in harm reduction, discuss what’s possible when these programs are led by us and for us, and examine funding options and support resource” (www.nbhrn.org/events). The discussion will take place on Tuesday, July 29th from 11am – 12pm, virtually.

Click hereto register for this innovative and important webinar.

New Report: Medicaid Is an Essential Safety Net for Children

In observance of Medicaid’s upcoming 60th anniversary, United Hospital Fund is publishing a three-part series of issue briefs examining the program’s impact on particular populations in New York State. The third brief, released today, spotlights the various ways Medicaid improves access to quality care for children and reduces poverty for families.

The brief also warns that federal funding cuts to Medicaid—although focused on adult populations—will adversely affect children.“In light of federal cuts, maintaining New York’s long-standing commitment to ensuring access to quality health care for children is more urgent than ever and will be a major challenge in the years ahead,” said Giovanna Braganza, MPH, senior research analyst at UHF and author of the issue brief. “Sustained investment and thoughtful innovation can help preserve Medicaid’s ability to continue meeting the needs of children and families in New York and nationally.”

In New York, Medicaid covers 44% of all children, 49% of all births, and 44% of children with special health care needs. The brief examines key channels through which Medicaid improves access to quality care for children and demonstrates how it yields better health outcomes in adulthood and higher educational attainment.Medicaid in New York: A Critical Lifeline for Children in New York State can be downloaded from UHF’s website below. The first issue brief, Medicaid in New York: Safeguarding Seniors’ Safety and Well-Being, can be accessed here. The second brief, Medicaid in New York: Supporting Those with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, can be accessed here.

New Strategy to Boost Behavioral Health Care Services, Commonwealth Fund, 7/28 

The Innovation Center at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency charged with developing better ways of paying for and delivering health care, recently released a new “strategic direction.” On To the Point, Nathaniel Counts, chief policy officer at the Kennedy Forum, explains how the plan’s emphasis on prevention, patient empowerment, and consumer choice could provide an opportunity to advance innovations in behavioral health care. “[It] can address some of the fundamental issues facing behavioral health care in the U.S.,” Counts writes, “while aligning incentives for better outcomes at lower long-term costs.” READ MORE

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