September 17, 2024
The NYS Health Foundation is out with a new Report that looks at deaths of despair in the NYC area. The Report focuses on suicide and substance use disorder in the veteran’s community. https://nyhealthfoundation.org/resource/nyc-deaths-of-despair-suicide/
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Health Insurance Changes for 2025 announced:
New York State health insurers were required to file their requested rate increases for 2025 earlier than usual this year. The State Department of Financial Services (DFS) then reviews these rates and makes adjustments as they see necessary. Over 700,000 New Yorkers are enrolled in small group plans, which cover employers with up to 100 employees. Insurers requested an average rate increase of 18.6% in the small group market, which DFS cut by 55% to 8.4% for 2025. A number of small businesses also will be eligible for tax credits that may lower premium costs, such as the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit. Below is the link to the DFS website with all of the requested rate increases.
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Details around opioid settlement spending remain limited after city’s first presentation to advisory board
Ethan Geringer-Sameth, 9/16, Crain’s Health Pulse New York City gave its first high-level account of its spending of tens of millions of dollars in opioid settlement funds to the advisory board overseeing them but questions still remain around how the money is being used.
After a previous meeting of the state’s Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Board, in which members railed against city leaders in absentia for a lack of transparency, city Health Department officials Friday informed the board how it had used some of the money and how it plans to use $50 million annually by fiscal year 2027 – a roadmap Mayor Eric Adams announced earlier this week.With dollars for the opioid crisis stretched thin, practitioners have been waiting to see how the city is using its settlement funds, accountable for 20% of the state pie. But still missing is a detailed breakdown of where each dollar will go as some board members fear providers on the ground are being left out of the pot that was intended for them.
“It’s really about understanding clearly how the state and the city…are going about spending these dollars with a high level of transparency,” said Board Chair Debra Pantin. The settlement funds were an “unfortunate opportunity” to build on existing work, she said. Board members want to see more evidence that the funds are contributing to those efforts, not supplanting substance use work that the city and state should already have been doing.
One program receiving funds, New York City Health + Hospitals’ telehealth service, Virtual ExpressCare, saw more than 500 patients with substance use disorder and prescribed buprenorphine just 32 times in the year ending in June 2024, according to Dr. Rebecca Linn-Walton, an assistant commissioner at the Health Department, who represented the city.
Advisory board member Dr. Justine Waldman called the number of prescriptions a “complete failure.”
“I give out 32 prescriptions of buprenorphine a day. What happened with this program?” she asked.
Health + Hospitals did not have its own representative to answer questions at the advisory board meeting. Spokeswoman Stephanie Buhle told Crain’s the agency has issued over 6,600 prescriptions of buprenorphine systemwide in fiscal year 2024. She said the telehealth program was meant to supplement other sources of the prescriptions.
Through state fiscal year 2024, which ended in March, the state has received close to $312 million dollars from big drug companies like Johnson & Johnson, Walmart, CVS, Teva and Purdue for their role in proliferating highly addictive opioids.
While much of the settlement funding goes through the state, New York City has direct control over its stream of cash because it was named in many of the lawsuits. The city has received $154 million in settlement funds through September and expects that figure to rise to $500 million by 2040, the Mayor’s office said earlier this week.
In the city’s fiscal year 2022, which ran from July through June, the city allocated $30 million among the Health Department, New York City Health + Hospitals and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, according to Dr. Linn-Walton. That funding went to syringe service programs with opioid prevention centers, more social worker in public hospital emergency departments, and the OCME’s Drug Intelligence and Intervention Group. The Department’s OnPoint NYC program treated 6,700 people in fiscal year 2024 with naloxone, buprenorphine prescriptions and other services.
Some of the funding went to Health + Hospitals’ ED Leads programs, which offered 24,000 patients with substance use services. Other dollars went to the Consult for Addiction Treatment and Care in Hospital program, which places clinical and counseling teams in nine hospitals focused on treating people with addiction and saw 8,000 patients in fiscal year 2024, according to the city’s presentation.
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Last week Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds, CEO of NYS Council member agency Family and Children’s Association on Long Island spoke to Council members regarding the incident (described below) and the proposed Suffolk County legislation that would cap executive pay at charitable organizations that receive public funds. The NYS Council denounces the abuse of power demonstrated by county legislator Robert Trotta for his blatant bullying tactics that invaded people’s privacy and potentially intimidated FCA staff and care recipients.
Hicksville clinic CEO files complaint against Legis. Robert Trotta’s surprise visit
By Vera Chinese
vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese, Daily News, September 13, 2024 3:46 pm
The CEO of a Long Island nonprofit filed a complaint to the state after a Suffolk County lawmaker visited a Hicksville addiction treatment clinic and allegedly introducing himself simply as a “politician,” a move the CEO said amounted to bullying.
Family and Children’s Association CEO Jeffrey Reynolds accused Suffolk County Legis. Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) of disrupting the clinic’s operations and ignoring patients’ right to privacy. Trotta — whose visit was captured on video — has denied the allegations claiming he was performing his “due diligence” in researching the organization which receives public money. Critics say the visit amounts to overreach.The clinic offers both medication assistant treatment and talk therapy to those with alcohol, drug and gambling addiction issues, Reynolds said. It has served 414 people this year and is funded through insurance billing and state money.”Protecting our clients and staff is our first priority and we are appalled by Mr. Trotta’s unannounced, combative visit,” Reynolds said in a statement. “Reasonable people can disagree on policy proposals, but this crosses a line and is bullying, plain and simple.
WHAT TO KNOW
- The CEO of a Long Island nonprofit filed a complaint to the state after a Suffolk County lawmaker visited a Hicksville addiction treatment clinic and allegedly introducing himself as a “politician,” a move the CEO said amounted to bullying.
- Trotta — whose visit was captured on video — has denied the allegations claiming he was performing his “due diligence” in researching the organization which receives public money.
- Trotta and Legis. Trish Bergin (R-East Islip) have sponsored a county bill capping executive pay at charitable organizations contracted with the county contending it would provide legislative oversight at those agencies.
Trotta and Reynolds sparred during a legislative committee meeting last month with Trotta critical of Reynolds’ compensation package which was $391,167 in 2022 as he managed a $21.2 million budget that year, according to FCA’s publicly available 990 tax form.”While I’ve gotten used to Mr. Trotta’s verbal taunts, neither Long Islanders struggling with a mental health condition nor our staff who are working hard to help them should have to deal with his disrespectful behavior,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds alerted the state Office of Addiction Services and Supports of the incident in a letter to its general counsel Trisha Allen on Thursday.
OASAS spokesman Evan Frost said the agency has received the complaint and is discussing it with FCA.”Our mission remains to ensure the safety and well-being of all individuals who access our services in New York State, and to support our providers who deliver these important, lifesaving services,” he said.Trotta and Legis. Trish Bergin (R-East Islip) have sponsored a county bill capping executive pay at charitable organizations contracted with the county contending it would provide legislative oversight at those agencies.Reynolds and representatives from two-dozen other nonprofits and their supporters publicly testified the bill is a government overreach and that the salaries are aligned with the industry average.Video of Tuesday’s visit provided by FCA shows Trotta wearing cargo shorts and a T-shirt entering the facility shortly after noon and speaking with staff. Trotta, entering with his hands in his pockets, was in the clinic’s waiting room for a few minutes and did not appear to interact with any patients. Both Trotta and Reynolds said he introduced himself as a government official, asked about operations and made comments about Reynolds’ salary before leaving.
Trotta said he visited the facility, which is not in Suffolk County and does not receive Suffolk money, because he heard it serves few people.”He’s concerned that someone’s actually looking behind the curtain on what he is making $400,000 a year for,” Trotta said. “If more politicians did what I’m doing, maybe your taxes would be a little bit lower.”Trotta said he will “100%” continue to visit other nonprofits to observe their operations.
Legislative Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst) said he has been informed of the incident and is gathering more information.
Legis. Rebecca Sanin (D-Huntington Station), who opposes the bill, said Trotta’s actions were a step too far and that the presence of a government official at an addiction treatment facility could deter those in the recovery process.”When a sitting legislator barges into a drug treatment facility, intimidating staff and disrupting the safe space for patients accessing care, we’ve jumped the shark from typical political games to doing real harm to our most vulnerable residents,” Sanin said.