Physicians and Other Licensed Professionals

The New York State Department of Health (DOH), in consultation with the Department of Labor (DOL), recently announced a Request for Applications for the Health Workforce Retraining Initiative (HWRI).  This program was established pursuant to NYS Public Health Law §2807-g and is funded through the State’s Health Care Reform Act.  The 2018-19 Enacted New York State Budget included $9 million

Continue Reading NYS Department of Health Announces Workforce Retraining Funding Opportunity

The Broadest Impact:  2018-19 NYS Managed Care Budget Highlights

This, the last of our posts on the 2018-19 New York State Health Budget (the “Enacted Budget”), focuses on an area of healthcare that has perhaps the broadest impact of the sector as a whole — managed care.  A prior post in the series (
Continue Reading The Broadest Impact:  2018-19 New York State Managed Care Budget Highlights

 

A Renewed Focus: 2018-19 NYS Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Budget Highlights

Since the beginning of the administration of Governor Andrew Cuomo, there has been a strong emphasis on reform of the acute, primary, and long term care systems, and, particularly with the recent focus on the opioid crisis, that attention has extended to the behavioral
Continue Reading A Renewed Focus: 2018-19 New York State Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Budget Highlights

Responding to the Opioid Crisis and More:  2018-19 NYS Behavioral Health Budget Highlights

Several provisions in the recently adopted 2018-19 New York State Budget (the “Enacted Budget”) are intended to address the ongoing opioid crisis.  As discussed in a prior post (here), some were focused on pharmaceutical manufacturers.  Some of the most significant provisions

Continue Reading Responding to the Opioid Crisis and More:  2018-19 New York State Behavioral Health Budget Highlights

Pharmaceutical provisions in the 2018-2019 Enacted New York State Budget

Notwithstanding the enactment of a first-in-the-nation drug spending cap last year, in light of the $4.4 billion deficit and ongoing concerns about the opioid crisis it was inevitable that this year New York State would once again seek to enact substantial reforms impacting the pharmaceutical industry.
Continue Reading Pharmaceutical Reforms in 2018-19 New York State Budget

As we’ve discussed in previous blog posts, marijuana, whether used for medicinal or recreational purposes, is classified as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The CSA prohibits the manufacturing, distributing, dispensing or possession of certain controlled substances, including marijuana and marijuana-based products and services. In addition, the CSA makes it unlawful to sell, offer for
Continue Reading NYS Senator Gillibrand To Co-Sponsor Marijuana Justice Act

It’s flu season again. Your PCP at WPMG is thinking of you!

So began the health care provider’s text message that prompted this month’s Second Circuit decision applying the Telephone Consumer Protection Act to a flu shot reminder, Latner v. Mount Sinai Health System, Inc.

Plaintiff had gone to defendant West Park Medical Group (WPMG) in 2003 for a
Continue Reading Angry Text Message Recipient Loses Court Challenge On Flu Shot Reminder

As we previously discussed in Medical Marijuana 103: Patient and Practitioner Regulations in New York State, practitioners in New York must be registered with the New York State Department of Health (“DOH”) in order to certify patients for medical marijuana use. The DOH maintains a list of registered practitioners on its website, however such list is woefully incomplete. As
Continue Reading Bill Requires Public Disclosure of Medical Marijuana Practitioners

The New York State Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued an emergency regulation clarifying its minimum-wage rules regarding home care employees. The emergency regulation provides that sleep and meal times for home care aides who work shifts of 24 hours or more are not counted as hours worked. Recently, there has been a ringing dissonance between the DOL and decisions
Continue Reading No Pay to Sleep or Eat on the Job: New York State Department of Labor Issues an Emergency Regulation for Home Care Workers

In our previous post, Medical Marijuana 103: Patient and Practitioner Regulations in New York State, we discussed that patients certified for medical marijuana use can designate up to two caregivers. Caregivers can assist patients who are unable to pick up medical marijuana at a dispensing facility or are unable to administer medical marijuana to themselves properly.

Previously the Medical
Continue Reading Medical Marijuana Update – “Caregiver” Definition Expanded to Include Facilities