Thirteen behavioral health clinics under development will receive $3.5 million in grant money with the goal of providing health support as well as social service programs, Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday said.

The money will support the new 24-hour clinics, with six of them located in New York City and the other seven in regions across the state, Hochul's office said.

New York is sending $5.5 million to more than a dozen organizations in order to combat addiction and provide services to people in underserved populations of the state, Gov. Kathy Hochul's office recently announced.

The money is coming from a larger $2 billion settlement New York received from major companies deemed responsible for the proliferation of opioids and rise in addiction over the last generation.

Health care employers in New York are barred from requiring nurses to work beyond their regularly scheduled shift with some exceptions under a law taking effect on Thursday.

Exceptions include a health care disaster, an emergency declaration, or when required for safe patient care during an emergency or ongoing medical procedure.

Gov. Kathy Hochul will consider signing two pieces of legislation that would help improve New York's elevated maternal mortality rate and ensure pregnant New Yorkers whose fetuses have died get the treatment they need.

Lawmakers are pushing to improve maternal care in the state as a Capital Region maternity ward is expected to shutter due to significant financial losses.

Health care workers with out-of-state licenses will be able to continue to practice in New York under a measure signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The measure is meant to address a since-expired COVID-era executive order that allowed nurses and physicians to operate in New York without an in-state license. More broadly, the law in part will help address an ongoing health care worker shortage in the state over the last several years.

Gov. Kathy Hochul says she's confident a law she signed Friday to protect abortion providers in the state will stand up in court ahead of anticipated constitutional challenges, and some medical doctors are ready to take her word for it.

The governor signed the measure on the eve of the U.S. Supreme Court's one-year anniversary of striking down Roe v. Wade to legally shield New York clinicians who prescribe abortion medication to patients who live in states where they may be restricted or outlawed.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A leaked opinion and a conservative court meant it wasn't necessarily a surprise when justices overturned Roe v. Wade a year ago.

However, Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York President Michelle Casey said there was still a difference between expectation and reality.

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation Friday to embolden state legal protections for abortion providers who prescribe abortion medication to patients who live in states where they may be restricted or outlawed.

An increased number of out-of-state prescriptions for abortion medication is expected within days.

People in the LGBTQ+ community face greater discrimination and social stigma, which leads to a much higher rate of substance use and addiction disorders in that population, according to the National Institute of Health.

It prompted New York state assemblymembers to take action during their brief return to Albany this week to pass bill to improve the likelihood New Yorkers with different gender identities and sexual orientations will seek the substance use care they need.

Three colleges in New York state are receiving money as part of the launch of a scholarship program to encourage students to study addiction services, Gov. Kathy Hochul's office on Thursday announced.

The money being made available as New York is contending with a sharp rise in overdose deaths over the last several years, which has coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Efforts to expand health care coverage for people in New York without immigration status are likely at a standstill after Gov. Kathy Hochul doubled down on her concerns Tuesday about the cost of the proposal.

Members of the state Assembly remain focused on legislation that passed the Senate during a two-day special session in Albany this week, but chances of a measure passing to expand health care coverage for thousands of undocumented New Yorkers is growing slim.

Credit reporting agencies would be prohibited from collecting medical debt, nor would it be included in a consumer's credit report under legislation that will be heading to Gov. Kathy Hochul's desk.

The measure, given final passage in the state Assembly on Tuesday, is meant to address the estimated millions of people who carry medical debt and its impact on a person's ability to make large purchases or secure a loan to buy a home.

End-of-life care is not something most people like to think or talk about until it is impacting them.

However, these caregivers help make the end of life transition an easier one for patients and loved ones. As the New York Assembly returns to Albany this week, one of the bills on their docket would prohibit new for-profit hospice centers in the state. Jeanne Chirico, of the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York State, told Capital Tonight that over the last decade there has been a nationwide trend toward for-profit hospice care.

A proposal that would extend subsidized health care coverage in New York to people regardless of their immigration status has drawn skepticism from Gov. Kathy Hochul over its cost.

Advocates are mounting an effort to get her to reconsider.

Postpartum health coverage will expand from 60 days to a full year under New York Medicaid and Child Health Plus, state health officials on Thursday announced.

The change is now in effect after federal approval was granted. The move includes enrollees regardless of their immigration status or how a pregnancy ended.

Advocates are trying to ratchet up support for a bill to expand health care coverage to include more New Yorkers regardless of their immigration status.

But Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday signaled she was skeptical of doing so without more money from the federal government.

Major health care, business and labor unions in New York are making a final push for the state Assembly to advance a measure that would use untapped federal funds to expand health care coverage to include residents without legal status who are living in the state.

The measure was approved in the state Senate in the waning days of the legislative session, but is yet to be taken up in the Assembly.

A measure that would require insurance companies in New York to cover biomarker testing will head to Gov. Kathy Hochul's desk for her consideration after clearing both chambers of the Legislature on Thursday.

The measure has been backed by anti-cancer advocates as a way to expand options for patients. Insurance companies had previously put the measure into question over whether it is in the best interest of patients. But in a statement, an advocacy group pointed to changes to the bill.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Roughly a month ago, attorneys filed a broad lawsuit placing blame on a number of defendants, including social media platforms, for the May 14, 2022 murder of 10 Black people at a Buffalo Tops Supermarket.

Attorney John Elmore said they chose to move forward even as legislation expanding parts of New York's wrongful death statute remained before the state Legislature.

Core health services like immunizations, verbal assessments and counseling could be provided in homes under legislation that will be headed to Gov. Kathy Hochul's desk.

The measure is meant to allow local health departments in New York to provide "light touch" services that include lead screenings as well as referral services.

Migrants with asylum seeker status and undocumented New Yorkers could be in line for health care coverage after New York was granted approval to do so by the federal government this week.

But lawmakers will still have to pass legislation to do so in the next several days before the legislative session concludes in Albany.

New requirements for transparency in prescription drug pricing are heading to Gov. Kathy Hochul's desk after the measure was granted final approval this week in the state Legislature.

If signed into law, drug makers would be required to notify the public of price increases before they take effect through the drug utilization review board — a move that supporters hope will lead to lower prices for consumers.

Courts in New York state would be required to tell defendants of their right to a non-religious substance abuse treatment option under a measure given final passage in the state Senate this week.

The bill, which has already cleared the state Assembly, heads next to Gov. Kathy Hochul's office for her signature. But the measure faces an uncertain future after Hochul last year vetoed a previous version of the bill.

Health insurance firms that operate in New York and have out-of-state entities could be in line for a tax increase under a proposal backed by Democratic lawmakers and a powerful health care workers union.

The measure would apply a 9.63% tax on profits generated by insurance companies in New York that are sent out of state.

New York state health officials signaled Wednesday a requirement that health care workers receive the COVID-19 vaccination will end as pandemic-era rules more broadly are expiring.

The announcement comes after years of legal challenges to the vaccine requirement, which resulted in health care workers who refused to receive the vaccine losing their jobs as a result.

Amendments to a proposed expansion to New York's wrongful death law have done little to persuade opponents on the measure.

State lawmakers this month have re-introduced a version of the measure that is meant to make it easier for a person to claim losses when a loved one dies. If made law, emotional anguish would be covered under the wrongful death provision and a broader set of people would be able to bring claims in wrongful death cases.

New York state officials are taking additional steps this month that could lead to expanding health care coverage for more undocumented residents living in the state.

It's a long-sought move, and one that could come with tapping into unspent federal money through a Medicaid waiver process. And the proposal comes as the heated debate over immigration has taken center stage as more migrants, many seeking asylum status in the U.S., are coming to New York.

Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro on Friday called for a permanent extension of Medicaid coverage for telehealth services, backing a bipartisan measure in Congress.

Telehealth had become a popular option during the COVID-19 pandemic for people who still have medical appointments, but were unable to do so in person.

A coalition of advocates this week is calling for the expansion of New York's paid family leave program to include mothers and birthing parents of stillborn babies.

The measure is meant to provide a boost to maternal and postpartum health and address what the coalition, PUSH for Empowered Pregnancy, calls a loophole in the existing measure.

More New Yorkers could qualify for health coverage under the Essential Plan as health officials request federal approval to expand eligibility.

The push comes as pandemic-era eligibility for Medicaid is sunsetting, part of an effort at "smoothing" a dropoff in the number of people who have coverage.

Mental health professionals who provide services in New York prisons would be eligible for thousands of dollars in student loan forgiveness under legislation proposed this week by a state lawmaker.

The bill, backed by Assemblyman Jake Blumencranz, would provide annual grant awards of up to $2,000 in student loan forgiveness that would be awarded to people who provide mental health services to incarcerated people.

State lawmakers in the Assembly on Monday advanced a package of proposals meant to make it easier for New Yorkers with disabilities to access services.

The measures were approved in recognition of Legislative Disabilities Awreness Day, as lawmakers seek to address the roadblocks people face when receiving help.

A report released by New York advocacy organizations on Friday highlighted the difficulties immigrants in the state face in receiving organ transplants that can save their lives, but can be hindered because of their immigration status.

The report comes as advocates and Democratic lawmakers have sought the approval of a measure to extend health care access from the Essential Plan to cover more adult undocumented immigrants living in the state.

Advocates for medical aid in dying are back at the New York state Capitol, days prior to Mother’s Day, to again push for passage of the Medical Aid in Dying Act.

The act allows terminally ill, mentally capable adults with six months or less to live to have the option to get a prescription they can take to end their lives peacefully.

New York state's $229 billion budget is setting aside $1 billion in additional funding to address a broad array of mental health care needs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The money, touted by Gov. Kathy Hochul in Buffalo on Monday, is being highlighted as New York officials and advocates are making a renewed focus on the issue after the death of a Black man on a New York City after he was held in a chokehold.

Lawmakers will work to change state law within the next few weeks to continue allowing health staff from other states to practice in New York facilities before Gov. Kathy Hochul's executive order related to the COVID-19 pandemic expires later this month.

The governor's executive order that declares a statewide disaster emergency due to ongoing health staffing shortage allows nurses, LPNs and physicians licensed in other states to practice medicine in New York. It sunsets May 22 — or a week-and-a-half after the federal COVID-19 emergency ends May 11.

Nursing homes in New York could be getting stronger and long-sought expansion of oversight — but there's a concern funding won't be enough.

The state's $229 billion budget will add $2.5 million for a program overseeing and inspecting nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

The medicinal cannabis industry in New York is worried the state's efforts to address illicit marijuana sales won't go far enough in addressing the ongoing problem in the state.

New York lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul in the newly approved $229 billion state budget agreed to new penalties for businesses that sell cannabis without a license, including civil fines and potentially closing stores that are selling illegally.

A pair of bills signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday are geared toward expanding access to abortion in New York amid a renewed fight over the issue in states across the country.

Hochul signed legislation meant to guarantee access to medication abortion at the State University of New York and the City University of New York. At the same time, Hochul approved a separate bill that will allow pharmacists to prescribe over-the-counter birth control.

New York is raising the tax on cigarettes by $1 a pack — a move that anti-tobacco advocates worry is half a loaf, but convenience store groups believe will only lead to an expansion of an underground market of illicit sales.

The tax increase is part of New York’s $229 billion budget plan. Once approved, it will reach $5.35 – making the state one of the most expensive places in the country to buy cigarettes. State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins says the move is meant to further cut down smoking rates.

New York health officials on Monday launched a campaign to encourage eligible people to begin the two-dose vaccination series for mpox, the disease formerly known as monkeypox.

The state Department of Health as well as the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is launching the effort after last summer's spread of the virus in parts of New York state.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The New York state Legislature passed a bill in 2019 establishing a statewide paint recycling program.

PaintCare New York launched last May. Program manager Andrew Radin said its first year has been very successful.

Gov. Kathy Hochul made an unprecedented commitment to funding mental health services in her executive budget.

But advocates are worried that Hochul and the Legislature will neglect what they argue is needed the most: an 8.5% cost of living increase for those who work in this field.

Hospitals and nursing homes in New York could receive a higher reimbursement rate under a tentative agreement in the state budget.

But a broader deal for a state spending plan was not finalized on Thursday, and state lawmakers have left Albany for the next several days as issues addressing climate change are yet to be locked down.

New York lawmakers have reached an agreement with Gov. Kathy Hochul to expand the child tax credit in the state to include children under the age of 4, a source familiar with the talks on Thursday said.

Expanding the tax credit is expected to be included in a finalized budget agreement, which could be struck this week.

Mayors from a half dozen upstate cities on Wednesday signed onto a letter released by a powerful health care workers union urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to increase Medicaid support for hospitals and nursing homes as part of the state budget.

The letter was facilitated by 1199SEIU, a key health care worker labor organization that has called for higher Medicaid reimbursement rates in the yet-to-be-finalized state budget, now more than three weeks late.

New York's health care sector, from labor unions to industry leaders, is making a concerted push this month to boost Medicaid spending in the yet-to-be-completed state budget.

They argue the COVID-19 pandemic has set back the health care workforce in New York and scrambled the finances for hospitals statewide. But budget watchdogs are skeptical, warning state officials should carefully weigh spending in a program that remains one of the costliest in the country and the most expensive budget item each year.

KENTUCKY — The Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs (KASAP) local programs are not limited to survivors of rape but also serve survivors of sexual harassment, sexual assault or sexual violence.

To accomplish the mission at KASAP, improving public policy, promoting prevention and increasing public awareness are at the forefront of their initiatives.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and a group of statewide female leaders are fighting back against the legal challenge to restrict access to the abortion drug mifepristone by mail and changes to the medication's federal approval.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito issued a temporary stay Friday afternoon — temporarily restoring full access to mifepristone and keeping current federal approvals and rules in place. It will remain in effect through midnight Wednesday as some groups have fought to overturn the FDA's approval of mifepristone, pushing back on scientific data that proves it's a safe and effective medication.

Community health centers across the country would receive re-authorized funding through 2028 under legislation backed by Rep. Elise Stefanik, her office on Friday announced.

It's estimated 30 million Americans, many who live in rural areas as well as communities without many health care options, rely on community health care centers for treatment.

Besides stockpiling mifepristone, the drug at the center of a national medication abortion firestorm, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Wednesday that if the drug is taken off the market, that New York will commit up to an additional $20 million to abortion providers to support access to other methods of care.

Hochul said she will also working with the Legislature on a bill to require private insurers to cover misoprostol, a similar drug, when it's prescribed off-label for abortion.

Advocates for kids struggling with mental health care needs are urging state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul to ensure nearly $900 million in proposed spending will go toward increasing care access for children.

The push comes as the state budget remains unresolved two weeks after it was initially due, and as the Hochul administration this spring is holding forums around New York to raise the issue of child mental health.

Thousands of complaints at nursing homes and long-term care facilities are made in New York. But advocates for older New Yorkers warn many problems are going unreported.

Complaints at nursing homes and assisted living facilities have been rising over a year-long period, according to state data compiled this month by AARP. But the group’s Bill Ferris warns the agency tasked with overseeing these facilities doesn’t have the resources.

New York health officials have changed the way they're delivering prescription drugs to people in the state's Medicaid program.

It's expected to save hundreds of millions of dollars — both for state and federal taxpayers while also addressing what officials have criticized as an opaque system. But at the same time, providers say problems are already emerging.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- People Inc.'s telehealth program already reaches thousands of patients across Western New York and the agency expects the program now to grow substantially.

On Monday, U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins announced $2 million earmarked in the 2023 budget for it.

New York's acting health commissioner is making a push to ban flavored tobacco products in New York amid opposition from Democratic lawmakers in the Legislature.

Dr. James McDonald on Thursday became the latest voice in addition to anti-smoking advocates to call for a ban on flavored products like menthol cigarettes in New York, a provision contained in Gov. Kathy Hochul's $227 billion budget proposal.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams in a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul this week urged her to support the expansion of a health insurance program to include more undocumented residents living in the state.

In the letter, Adams called for expanding the Essential Plan to include undocumented adults between the ages of 19 and 64. If approved, about 245,000 New York residents statewide would be affected.

New York state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's office will conduct a follow-up assessment of the state Department of Health's handling of nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The announcement made Wednesday by DiNapoli's office comes three years after a controversial order that required nursing homes at the start of the pandemic to not turn away COVID-19 positive patients.

Dr. James McDonald was nominated Friday by Gov. Kathy Hochul to lead the state Department of Health.

McDonald has been serving as the department's acting commissioner since the start of the year. His nomination is subject to confirmation by the state Senate.

In her executive budget, Gov. Kathy Hochul included a plan to require drug makers to report to the Department of Financial Services (DFS) planned price hikes in advance, including the reasons for those price increases.

The state Senate included many of these reforms in their one-house budget, but the Assembly did not.

Xylazine would be designated a schedule III depressant controlled substance under legislation proposed Wednesday by Democratic state Sen. James Skoufis.

The measure is meant to address the growing concerns over the use of xylazine, a sedative administered to horses, amid the ongoing overdose and opioid epidemic across the country.

Both houses of the New York state Legislature are rejecting a proposal from Gov. Kathy Hochul that would require hospitals be paid within days of ordering a treatment or test for a patient.

Lawmakers are against the proposal included in Hochul's executive budget to reform managed health care, including requiring hospitals to be paid swiftly and limit lengthy reviews by a health care insurance provider.

Dozens of groups are urging New York lawmakers to back a provision in Gov. Kathy Hochul's $227 billion budget plan meant to expand prescription drug price transparency measures.

The groups, including AARP New York and more than 40 organizations that represent doctors, communities of color and clergy, are backing the proposal, which would require drug manufacturers to report planned price increases in advance.

Visitors to New York state nursing homes will no longer be required to show a negative COVID-19 test in order to gain entry to the facilities, state Department of Health officials on Friday announced.

The updated guidance for nursing homes in the state is meant to align with federal policies that no longer require a negative COVID-19 test result.

New York state officials will hold a series of listening sessions as well as a spring summit to discuss mental health issues facing young people in the state, Gov. Kathy Hochul's office on Thursday announced.

Hochul this year at the same time has called for $1 billion to strengthen mental health care programs as part of the state budget this year.

Parents will be able to check their eligibility for financial support for child care programs in New York under a new web tool unveiled Wednesday by Gov. Kathy Hochul's office.

At the same time, the Hochul administration re-established a statewide panel tasked with developing plans for the implementation of universal child care in the state.

New York lawmakers want to make it easier for people who are diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries to receive access to care and services.

A bill approved this week in the state Senate is meant to aid New Yorkers who are diagnosed with the injury and need access long-term care.

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday defended her budget's plan to shift key Medicaid money away from county governments as local officials and some lawmakers raise an alarm over the measure.

Hochul's budget would shift Federal Medical Assistance Percentage funds in the Medicaid program, redirecting them from county governments that administer Medicaid to the state. County officials, Democrats and Republicans alike, have protested, worried it could raise property taxes as a result.

States would be barred from redirecting key Medicaid funds from local governments under a federal measure aimed at a provision in Gov. Kathy Hochul's $227 billion budget plan.

New York House Republicans on Monday proposed the measure in response to Hochul's budget using money from Federal Medical Assistance Percentage funds that are normally sent to county governments in New York.

New Yorkers who have underlying medical issues and are at risk of contracting a serious case of COVID-19 are being encouraged by state health officials to stay up-to-date with a bivalent booster shot.

The state Department of Health on Friday announced the launch of a public service campaign to highlight the booster doses and their availability.

Increasing benefit rates, protecting workers' jobs and making benefits portable are among the proposals from advocates to strengthen New York's paid family leave and health leave laws.

The family legal advocacy organization A Better Balance on Thursday released a report outlining areas New York could bolster its existing paid family leave measure and its current gaps that could be adversely affecting LGBTQ people, people of color and military families as well as New Yorkers who are struggling with substance abuse.

The push is on for advocates wanting half of the $1.1 billion for mental health in Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposed budget to be dedicated to improve services for young people as they face record rates of suicide, mental disorders and substance use.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for New York teens ages 15 to 19, according to the state Health Department.

After decades of underinvestment in the state’s mental health system, Gov. Kathy Hochul is proposing to spend over a billion dollars on a variety of needs including housing, psychiatric treatment and an expansion of mental health services in schools.

According to state Sen. Samra Brouk, chair of the Senate Committee on Mental Health, it’s “a new day” for the mental health world in New York.

Health benefits for volunteer firefighters could be strengthened in New York under legislation that cleared the Democratic-led state Senate this week.

The measure would make permanent a law that covers disability determinations for volunteer firefighters who are facing lung disabilities.

More funding is needed for the long-term care oversight program in New York that sends ombudsman into nursing homes and long-term care facilities, advocates AARP New York on Tuesday said.

The organization have called for a $15 million increase in the program in order to add 235 full-time staff in order to meet the goal of weekly visits to each of the state's 1,400 adult care facilities and nursing homes. That includes more than 500 facilities in New York City and on Long Island.

Retired New York state Assembly Member Dick Gottfried, who chaired the Assembly Health Committee for 35 years, said there’s an enormous learning curve for lawmakers who take on this challenge.

“I remember when I became health chair, it very quickly became clear to me how little I knew,” he told Capital Tonight. “And that was true of everyone in the Assembly but (former Assemblyman) Jim Tallon, the health chair (at the time), who we relied on a lot.”

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. -- Niagara Apothecary is a small independent pharmacy in Niagara Falls.

Owner Jamie Latko said shops like hers offer extra services customers can't always get from the big chains.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Medicaid 340B program allows safety net providers that serve low income and high risk communities to purchase prescription drugs at a discount and get federal reimbursements at full price.

Evergreen Health Chief Operating Officer Michael Lee said that difference amounts to roughly $14 million a year for his organization alone.

Flu cases in New York have dropped for the seventh week in a row, recording a 34% decrease over last week, state Department of Health officials on Monday announced.

There has been a total of nine pediatrict deaths in the state attributed to influenza this season, including one last week, health officials said.

Hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities have faced financial headwinds and severe staffing shortages in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to hike the Medicaid reimbursement rate for those facilities by 5%. But the need, lawmakers and health care sector officials argue, may be even greater.

Six substance abuse use and prevention coalitions will be created in five counties in New York state under a $5.25 million plan announced Tuesday by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The money will be directed toward tackling addiction in New York and focus on "priority" populations, including people of color, veterans, older people and people with disabilities as well as those who have a history of incarceration.

A proposed compromise by Gov. Kathy Hochul to exempt medical malpractice claims in a measure that is meant to expand New York's wrongful death statute was rejected by state lawmakers hours after it was floated.

Hochul made the 11th hour proposal to what has been a hotly contested measure that would allow someone to bring a wrongful death claim based on emotional suffering and anguish, which is a broader standard than the current requirement to show financial losses due to a loved one's death.

An increase in funding from the state's health care program for low-income New Yorkers is needed in order to alleviate a severe staffing shortage, a consortium of non-profit facilities and labor unions on Monday urged.

The groups, including the powerful health care workers union 1199SEIU and Leading Age New York, which represents non-profit nursing homes, in a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul called for a 20% hike in Medicaid rates for nursing homes in the coming state budget.

It’s one of the toughest ethical questions any of us will have to answer. If a loved one faces a terminal diagnosis, should they have the option to take their own life?

For the eighth year in a row, the New York Medical Aid in Dying Act has been introduced in Albany, this time sponsored by the new Assembly Health Committee Chair Amy Paulin and Senate Judiciary Chair Brad Hoylman-Sigal.

Public health officials in New York are planning an expansion of infectious disease monitoring in wastewater in order to detect more illnesses that may be otherwise quietly spreading through a community.

The state Department of Health on Monday announced its plan through $21.6 million in funding, including a $6.6 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

New York state is starting to dip into the more than $2 billion in money from nationwide settlements from opioid manufacturers and distributors to expand addiction treatment programs, Gov. Kathy Hochul's office on Friday announced.

The first grants will amount to $7.5 million in funding for providers and addiction treatment programs to create low-threshold buprenorphine services. The drug is an FDA-approved medication to treat addiction.

New Yorkers pay some of the highest health care and prescription drug costs in the country. Annual health insurance premiums are far higher than the rest of the country, and the difference is getting bigger.

"It's a wider gap than it's ever been and it's getting wider," said Bill Hammond, a health policy researcher at the Empire Center.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The signs were there.

Brendan Orr testified Wednesday he and his family were well aware of his sister Jennifer's mental health struggles, including her diagnosis as bipolar, texts and statements about her desire to take her own life, and an incident with a knife in September that required medical attention.

New York's federally required nursing home oversight program should receive a $15 million boost in funding and efforts to lower prescription drug costs for older people should be expanded, AARP New York on Wednesday urged in a report released by the group.

The group released its 2023 agenda that includes proposals to make it easier for people to access benefit programs and increase transparency for large drug makers. And the group wants higher wages for homes care workers while also boosting funding for in-home services for elderly people who are living in their own homes.

Stacey Gibson's husband Sid died in 2014 after a long struggle with a rare and painful neurological disorder.

"He wanted very much to end his life, not because he wanted to die," she said. "This was a man who wanted to live, but his body betrayed him."

Deaths from opioid overdoses in New York continued to rise in 2021, growing by 14% compared to the prior year, according to data released Tuesday by the state Department of Health.

The new data, which also showed a corresponding rise in emergnecy room visits due to overdoses, is another sign of how widespread the problem of opioid addiction and the toll taken on communities.

New York officials are being urged by a top doctors' organization to address burnout among physicians amid broader health care shortages across the state.

The push from the Medical Society of the State of New York comes as hospitals and health care networks have been strained by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as well as the additional challenges this winter of a rise in flu and RSV cases around the state.

A 28-member committee will provide input for policies meant to improve the lives of older people as they age in New York as a "master plan" takes shape, Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday announced.

The policies to be developed by the panel are meant to draw in a variety of concerns from financial issues to health care needs for aging people.

New York state Attorney General Tish James has filed lawsuits against several for-profit nursing homes, alleging that the owners neglected patients in order increase their personal profits, resulting in the inhumane treatment of residents.

For-profit hospices are now on the cusp of making in-roads in New York state.

OASAS Commissioner Chinazo Cunningham told Capital Tonight that opioid settlement funds will be out the door within a matter of weeks.

“We think that we will be able to start spending money within weeks,” she said.