Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
NY Mayor, Governor Pitch Free Child Care Plan For 2-Year-Olds
Bloomberg: Mamdani, Hochul Unveil Free Child Care Plan For 2-Year-Olds
New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a new investment to provide free child care for all 2-year-old children in the city, fulfilling part of Mamdani’s campaign pitch to offer universal care for children between the ages of 6 weeks and 5 years. The plan will cost $498 million over the next two years, Hochul said at a press briefing with Mamdani in Brooklyn Thursday. It will be paid for with existing state funds, without requiring new taxes or revenue raisers for the next fiscal year, she said. The 2 Care program will serve about 2,000 children when it opens later this year, Mamdani said. (Nahmias, 1/8)
ProPublica: New York City Employees Suing EmblemHealth After Not Being Able To Access Mental Health Care
In late 2024, Nimrod Shimrony, an emergency medical technician for the New York City Fire Department, tried to end his life. After completing an intensive outpatient treatment program, he and his wife searched for a therapist for months. Valeria Calderón, a special education teacher with New York City’s public school system, suffered a miscarriage that same year. Before she tried to have a baby again, she sought help with the depression and anxiety she had been struggling with. She called more than a dozen therapists. (Blau, 1/9)
The Connecticut Mirror: Connecticut Health Program For Public Sector Workers Lost $23 Million In Last Fiscal Year
The state-run health plan for municipal and other public-sector employees outside of state government paid almost $23 million more in claims than it collected in member premiums last fiscal year, according to a new report from Comptroller Sean Scanlon’s office. But Scanlon said this week the Connecticut Partnership Plan remains fiscally sound and generally has performed in the black since member premiums were adjusted in 2019. (Phaneuf, 1/8)
Honolulu Civil Beat: Hawaii Reviving Task Force That Places Warning Signs At Dangerous Beaches To Prevent Drowning
About 800 people have drowned in the waters off Hawaii’s roughly 1,000-mile coastline in the last decade, with an increasing number of people frequenting remote stretches of coastline with little to warn them of risks. Yet the state has not called for a single new warning sign to be put up on a beach in more than 13 years. ... The state Department of Land and Natural Resources is planning to revive a task force charged with putting up warning signs at dangerous beaches. The group has not met since 2012. (Thompson, 1/7)
KFF Health News: Thrift Store. Clinic. Roller Rink. Center Becomes ‘Radical’ Lifeline Amid Homelessness, Drug Crises
From the outside, the abandoned Family Dollar store in the Lower 9th Ward looks intimidating. It’s covered in graffiti, with aluminum cans and trash dotting the parking lot. It sits on a street with other empty lots and decayed buildings — symbols of the lasting devastation this neighborhood, one of the city’s poorest, has endured since Hurricane Katrina. But inside, the store is a welcoming oasis. (Pattani, 1/9)
Axios: America's Healthiest, Least Healthy States: Mapped
A state-by-state health report card, out today from the United Health Foundation, finds an array of encouraging signs for America: Rates for premature death, drug deaths, firearm deaths and homicides all fell. Rates of cancer screenings, physical activity and volunteerism all increased. (Allen, 1/8)
On gun violence and mental health —
The New York Times: Former Uvalde Teacher’s Testimony Throws A Trial Into Chaos
Lawyers for a former officer charged with abandoning children in the police response accused prosecutors of withholding information. A judge ruled prosecutors had erred but denied a motion for a mistrial. (Sandoval, 1/8)
The New York Times: Brown Shooting Suspect’s Descent From Brilliant Friend To Angry Loner
After Claudio Neves Valente was accused of killing two Brown students and a M.I.T. professor, former classmates recalled how he yearned to go to M.I.T. himself and failed, adding to his growing list of resentments. (Ahmed and Fonseca, 1/8)
