January 24, 2021
As you may recall, in the fall of 2019, the NYS Council spearheaded an effort to ensure community-based organizations would be included in any/all distributions of new funds received by NYS as result of the sale of Fidelis Health Plan to Centene, as well as other business transactions of the same or similar nature. The draft bill language we submitted for consideration to Assemblyman Gottfried and Senator Rivera was quite inclusive, ensuring a large swath of community-based provider types would be included in any/all distributions of these new funds. We did not argue the fact that general hospitals should benefit from these funds. Instead, we sought to broaden statutory language to ensure equitable distribution of the proceeds that are currently held in an account called the Healthcare Transformation Fund account (not to be confused with another NYS program called the Healthcare Facilities Transformation Grant Program). The Healthcare Transformation Fund account was established by the Governor who currently has sole power to distribute the funds. Since then, there have been several subsequent business transactions where funds have been transferred into the account. funds in the account are to be distributed over 4 years.
As you know, issues like this where scare resources are available to a hungry healthcare sector can take several years to achieve the intended outcome. We are grateful to Assemblyman Gottfried and Senator Rivera for their incredible work on our behalf to this point, and we look forward to a productive collaboration going forward. Last week Assemblyman Gottfried informed us our bill is on the agenda for this week’s Assembly Health Committee meeting.
We are currently reconstituting the advocacy group that earned so much good press and that saw our bill make real progress the last time we went at this. Stand by for more information on how you can partner with advocates in Albany who will be pushing hard to get this bill over the goal line this year.
See below (my note to advocates) and below files for more information.
L.
———- Forwarded message ———
From: Lauri Cole <lauri@nyscouncil.org>
Date: Sun, Jan 24, 2021 at 1:12 PM
Subject: A264 on Health Committee Agenda for 1/26
Good afternoon,
I hope this note finds you well.
I am pleased to report that Assemblyman Gottfried has once again prioritized our Healthcare Transformation Fund Account bill, A 264. The bill is on the Assembly Health Committee agenda for this Tuesday, January 26. See Committee agenda below. (Note: I have taken the liberty of highlighting another bill the NYS Council has tried to get over the finish line for a number of years. If you would like to support the All Products listed below we would certainly be grateful.)
Here is a refresher on the HCTF account issue:https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2018/03/30/state-reaches-2b-deal-for-fidelis-centene-sale-as-budget-deal-nears-340804. Also please see attached documents for more information.
PLEASE update your Memo of Support on the HCTF account bill (A.264) as soon as possible and send me a copy so I can create a new file. Also send it to Kayleigh in Ass. Gottfried’s Office at your earliest convenience. zalogak@nyassembly.govlauri@nyscouncil.org
Final Note: I have sent this email to those who participated in lawmaker meetings and signed on to our letters in the past. If you know of an organization that would like to join this effort please let me know?
Thanks to all!
Looking forward to talking strategy very soon.
Lauri
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Health (GOTTFRIED)
9:00 AM, Tuesday, January 26, 2021
The committee meeting will be broadcast on the NYS Assembly website https://nyassembly.gov/av/live/
| 160 | GOTTFRIED, DINOWITZ, MAGNARELLI, SIMON, ABINANTI, EPSTEIN, DE LA ROSA, SEAWRIGHT, THIELE, WILLIAMS, COLTON, CYMBROWITZ, TAYLOR, ABBATE, BARRON, STECK,L. ROSENTHAL, JACOBSON, ASHBY, MCDONOUGH, GALEF, GRIFFIN, LUPARDO, WEPRIN, ZEBROWSKI, BRONSON, FAHY– An act to amend the public health law, in relation to school potable water testing |
| 175 | GOTTFRIED– An act to amend the public health law, in relation to making technical, minor and coordinating amendments regarding health care agents and proxies, decisions under the family health care decisions act, and nonhospital orders not to resuscitate |
| 190 | GOTTFRIED, PAULIN, L. ROSENTHAL, ABINANTI, COLTON, SAYEGH, GALEF– An act to amend the public health law, in relation to hospital establishment |
| 192 | GOTTFRIED, LUPARDO, WOERNER, STECK, SAYEGH, DESTEFANO, SALKA– An act to amend the social services law, in relation to the provision of services to certain persons suffering from traumatic brain injuries or qualifying for nursing home diversion and transition services |
| 195 | GOTTFRIED, DARLING– An act to amend the social services law, in relation to medical assistance coverage for medically tailored meals and medical nutrition therapy for the purpose of disease management |
| 204 | GOTTFRIED, ABINANTI– An act to amend the public health law and the surrogate’s court procedure act, in relation to restoring medical futility as a basis for both surrogate consent to a do not resuscitate order and for a do not resuscitate order for a patient without a surrogate |
| 216 | GOTTFRIED, PAULIN– An act to amend the public health law, in relation to retail clinics |
| 264 | GOTTFRIED, CRUZ, HUNTER, SIMON, SAYEGH, DE LA ROSA, GLICK, LUPARDO, REYES, COLTON– An act to amend the state finance law, in relation to the health care transformation fund |
| 299 | GOTTFRIED, ABINANTI, SANTABARBARA, FAHY, ASHBY, SAYEGH, DESTEFANO– An act to amend the social services law, in relation to including applied behavioral analysis for treatment of autism spectrum disorder under standard coverage for Medicaid recipients |
| 333 | L. ROSENTHAL, PERRY– An act to amend the public authorities law, in relation to establishing a lymphedema and lymphatic diseases research grants program; and to amend the state finance law, in relation to creating the lymphedema and lymphatic diseases research and education fund |
| 413 | L. ROSENTHAL– An act to amend the public health law, in relation to adding dysmenorrhea to the list of conditions covered for lawful medical use of marihuana |
| 445 | PAULIN, DINOWITZ, GALEF, ABINANTI, ENGLEBRIGHT, WEPRIN, PERRY– An act to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring owners of multiple dwelling properties to develop, implement and distribute smoking policies |
| 531 | GOTTFRIED, PEOPLES-STOKES, LUPARDO, ABINANTI, ASHBY, CARROLL, CRUZ, DICKENS, ENGLEBRIGHT, GLICK, HEVESI, JEAN-PIERRE, HUNTER, M. MILLER, PAULIN, PICHARDO, REYES, L. ROSENTHAL, SIMON, SAYEGH, DARLING, FERNANDEZ, RAMOS, FAHY, BRONSON– An act to amend the public health law, in relation to medical marihuana |
| 744 | WALLACE, ABINANTI– An act to amend the general business law, in relation to the requirement that certain health clubs shall have at least one automated external defibrillator available upon the premises |
| 879 | GOTTFRIED, DINOWITZ, GALEF, PAULIN, L. ROSENTHAL, COLTON, ABINANTI– An act to amend the public health law and the insurance law, in relation to the definition of clinical peer reviewer |
| 1150 | ABINANTI, SOLAGES, TAYLOR, GRIFFIN, FAHY, HEVESI, DICKENS, THIELE, SIMON, ENGLEBRIGHT, SEAWRIGHT, MCDONOUGH, ASHBY, PICHARDO, MORINELLO, PAULIN, GOTTFRIED, BARRON, SAYEGH, RODRIGUEZ, M. MILLER, CRUZ, LUPARDO, FERNANDEZ, DINOWITZ, WEPRIN, STIRPE– An act to amend the public health law, in relation to adding autism to the list of conditions covered for lawful medical use of marihuana |
| 1196 | L. ROSENTHAL– An act requiring a study to determine the effects that exposure to long range acoustic devices have on an individual’s hearing; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof |
| 1316 | CAHILL– An act to amend the social services law, the public health law and the insurance law, in relation to prohibiting a provider of health care coverage from requiring providers of behavioral health services to offer all products offered by the provider of health care coverage |
| 1396 | GOTTFRIED, CAHILL, DARLING, DINOWITZ, EPSTEIN, GRIFFIN, STERN, TAGUE, TAYLOR, THIELE, ZEBROWSKI, WEPRIN, L. ROSENTHAL, CYMBROWITZ, HUNTER, GUNTHER, GALEF, MCDONOUGH, RA, BYRNES, SEAWRIGHT, ENGLEBRIGHT, JONES, SIMON, BARRETT, JEAN-PIERRE, NORRIS, OTIS, LUPARDO, MORINELLO, BUTTENSCHON, WALLACE– An act to amend the public health law, in relation to pharmacy benefit managers; to amend the insurance law, in relation to registration and licensing of pharmacy benefit managers; and to repeal certain provisions of the public health law relating thereto |
| 1523 | PRETLOW– An act to amend the public health law, in relation to prohibiting approved organizations in the child health insurance plan from limiting the participation of certain health care providers |
| 1615 | PERRY, BARRON, COLTON, COOK, TAYLOR, WEPRIN– An act to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring physicians and hospitals to obtain the name of the school attended by school-aged patients and to include this information in their admission registration forms |
| 1671 | GOTTFRIED, REYES, HEVESI, L. ROSENTHAL, GUNTHER, DICKENS, RODRIGUEZ, TAYLOR, HUNTER, BARRON, BRAUNSTEIN, PERRY, JOYNER, EPSTEIN, DINOWITZ, ABINANTI, O’DONNELL, PEOPLES-STOKES, THIELE, ENGLEBRIGHT, NOLAN, CRUZ, GALEF, SIMON, PAULIN, GOODELL– An act to amend part FFF of chapter 56 of the laws of 2020, amending the public health law relating to extending and enhancing the Medicaid drug cap and to reduce unnecessary pharmacy benefit manager costs to the Medicaid program, in relation to temporarily exempting covered entities under the federal 340B program and comprehensive HIV special needs plans |
| 1923 | PAULIN, GOTTFRIED, DINOWITZ, GALEF, J. RIVERA, WEPRIN, ABINANTI– An act to amend the public health law and the education law, in relation to generic drug products; and to repeal paragraph (o) of subdivision 1 of section 206 of the public health law relating thereto |