State shifts a six-figure spotlight onto medical cannabis

Jan 08, 2024

Presented by Healthcare Education Project

Good morning and welcome to the Weekly New York Health Care newsletter, where we keep you posted on what's coming up this week in health care news, and offer a look back at the important news from last week.

Beat Memo

The Office of Cannabis Management wants more New Yorkers to know about the merits of medical marijuana.

Today the office is launching a $160,000 digital ad campaign targeting health care providers and potential patients and caregivers, with the goal of increasing awareness of and access to the state’s medical cannabis program.

Paid posts will run in English and Spanish on social media and streaming services and in email newsletters through Feb. 19.

“In many states across the nation, the legalization of adult-use cannabis has led to a decrease in participation in medical cannabis programs,” Nakesha Abel, deputy director for health and research at New York’s Office of Cannabis Management, said in a statement. “In New York, we are working to reverse this trend and hope this campaign brings to light the therapeutic benefits of medical cannabis.”

More than 120,000 people are registered as patients in New York’s medical cannabis program, and about 4,200 health care providers are authorized to prescribe it, according to state data as of Dec. 1.

New York launched its medical marijuana program in 2016, but uptake was slow due to tight restrictions on qualifying conditions and a five-company cap on manufacturers.

By the end of the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the state had collected just $585,000 in tax revenue from sales of medical cannabis — far below the $4 million that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration had projected, POLITICO reported at the time.

Just 976 practitioners and 17,559 patients were participating in the program at that time.

The state has since loosened its grip.

Any provider who is licensed by the state to prescribe controlled substances, from dentists to podiatrists, is now eligible to certify patients for medical cannabis use after completing the required training course. And providers may issue a certification for any health condition they deem clinically appropriate.

“There was enough science there for me to consider implementing medical cannabis as part of my practice,” reads a quote from Nasim Chowdhury, a physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor, in one of the Office of Cannabis Management’s new ads.

A message from Healthcare Education Project:

All New Yorkers deserve equal access to quality healthcare, no matter their income or ZIP code. Yet today, Medicaid pays New York’s hospitals 30% less than the actual cost of care. Medicaid underpayments have already caused deep cuts to mental health services and maternity care. It’s an injustice. Families just want care and fear that this crisis could force their hospital to close. Albany: It’s time to step up and end the Medicaid funding crisis.

IN OTHER NEWS:

— Maimonides Medical Center has expanded its neonatal intensive care unit by 17 beds, bringing its total to 48 beds, the Brooklyn hospital announced Friday. Each bed is equipped with a camera that enables families to see their child from anywhere in the world.

The unit provides around-the-clock coverage for high-risk deliveries and cares for newborns who are born prematurely, are suffering from an infection or experienced birth defects.

ON THE AGENDA:

— Monday at 11 a.m. The NYC Health + Hospitals Board of Directors’ finance committee meets.

— Tuesday at 5 p.m. The NYC Health + Hospitals Board of Directors’ community relations committee meets.

— Wednesday, 2 to 3 p.m. The CUNY School of Public Health’s Harlem Health Initiative hosts a Zoom discussion on rising rates of congenital syphilis in New York City.

— Friday at 8 a.m. The NYC Health + Hospitals Board of Directors hosts a public session.

GOT TIPS? Send story ideas and feedback to Maya Kaufman at mkaufman@politico.com.

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What you may have missed

— Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled proposals last week that would ban cost-sharing for insulin under state-regulated health plans, restrict medical debt lawsuits, increase the maximum benefit for paid medical and disability leave, offer 40 hours of paid leave for prenatal medical appointments, eliminate cost-sharing for pregnancy-related benefits under the Essential Plan and qualified health plans, monitor physicians who appear to be performing high numbers of unnecessary C-sections and distribute free portable cribs to under-resourced New Yorkers.

Odds and Ends

NOW WE KNOW — Florida abortion rights advocates have secured enough state-certified signatures to put a referendum on the 2024 ballot.

TODAY’S TIP — Give your brain more periods of active rest.

STUDY THIS — Nearly 17,000 people may have died after taking the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine during the first Covid wave, according to a new study.

What We're Reading

— Older Americans say they feel trapped in Medicare Advantage plans, KFF Health News reports.

— Via The Information: “A Healthtech Unicorn Leaves a Trail of Clinic Complaints, Concerns Over Billing Practices.”

— Researchers team up with mental health influencers to reach young people online, NPR reports.

Around POLITICO

— The Department of Veterans Affairs will fund research on the use of psychedelic drugs, Ben Leonard reports.

— Florida gets FDA approval for Canadian drug importation plan, David Lim and Arek Sarkissian report.

MISSED A ROUNDUP? Get caught up on the New York Health Care Newsletter.

A message from Healthcare Education Project:

Mental health services closed. Maternity wards shut. It’s happening across New York, and one of the reasons is that Medicaid underfunds hospital care by 30%. Hospitals and caregivers give all of their patients 100%, each and every day. But if Albany doesn’t fix Medicaid underpayments to hospitals, the crisis will get worse – some hospitals may not survive.

Albany can end this injustice: Stop Medicaid underpayments and help hospitals stay open. The federal government will pay more than half the cost of closing the Medicaid funding gap, so it’s a savings for New York. Albany: It’s time to step up and end the Medicaid funding crisis now. All New Yorkers need equal access to quality healthcare, no matter their income or ZIP code.