New York has an insufficient supply of primary care providers statewide, according to a new “scorecard” by the Primary Care Development Corporation. There are roughly 111.7 primary care providers per 100,000 residents, although the rate is far lower in rural areas of the state, the nonprofit found. And access varies by region for Medicaid enrollees: About 80 percent of primary care providers statewide accept Medicaid, but in Manhattan just 63 percent do. “Primary care saves lives, leads to better individual and community health, is central to health equity, and reduces overall health care costs. Yet primary care in New York is undervalued and underfunded, leaving many individuals and communities without adequate care,” the nonprofit wrote. To address health care workforce shortages, Gov. Kathy Hochul has repeatedly proposed loosening New York’s scope-of-practice regulations to allow health care workers to perform a broader array of tasks under their licenses, as well as joining interstate licensure compacts that would enable practitioners licensed by other states to more readily work in New York. Indeed the Primary Care Development Corporation’s scorecard shows that the majority of primary care providers in New York are physicians. Twenty-five percent are nurse practitioners and 6 percent are physician assistants. State lawmakers have resisted. One bill pending in the Legislature, sponsored by state Assemblymember Amy Paulin and Sen. Gustavo Rivera, would require that at least 12.5 percent of health care spending be for primary care services. Nationally primary care accounts for over a third of all health care visits each year but only about 5 to 7 percent of all health care expenditures, according to the Primary Care Development Corporation. But it’s unclear exactly how much New York spends on primary care because there is no readily available data that includes all the state’s health care facilities and claims from all types of health insurance plans. IN OTHER NEWS: — New York City hospitals that serve a high proportion of Medicaid or uninsured patients experienced a greater strain on the capacity of their intensive care units and higher mortality rates during the first wave of the Covid pandemic, according to a recent study by Department of Health and Mental Hygiene researchers. Strained ICU capacity on its own was also associated with a greater likelihood of patients dying in the hospital. “Together, these findings suggest that a greater surge of patients needing critical care in segregated, under-resourced hospitals may have contributed to excess mortality rates, with Hispanic and [non-Hispanic] Black patients accounting for most of the mortality increases,” the researchers wrote. — Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday announced the award of nearly $25 million in capital grants to 70 nonprofit human services organizations. The funds come from the Nonprofit Infrastructure Capital Investment Program, which is administered by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York. A total of $60 million is being made available through the program. “The strong response to this opportunity serves as a reminder that these organizations, too often, lack sufficient capital funding to invest in their missions and serve New Yorkers,” Hochul said in a statement. ON THE AGENDA: — Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. The New York State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators will meet. MAKING ROUNDS: — Adam Herbst announced he is leaving his post as deputy commissioner of the New York State Department of Health, where he leads the office of aging and long-term care. — The Center for Urban Community Services has appointed Dawn M. Pinnock, who most recently served as commissioner of the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services, as its next president and chief executive officer. — Adam D. Cheriff has been named the new chief operating officer of Weill Cornell Medicine's Physician Organization, effective May 1. He most recently served as the chief medical information officer and chief of clinical operations. GOT TIPS? Send story ideas and feedback to Maya Kaufman at mkaufman@politico.com. Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories.
| 
