News and Updates

By Jimmy Vielkind and Bill Mahoney POLITICO NY Monday, November 16, 2015 ALBANY — Daily fantasy sports site are preparing for a legislative push, retaining some of New York’s most prominent lobbyists in the wake of Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s determination that the companies were facilitating illegal gambling. A day after Schneiderman, a Democrat, sent DraftKings and FanDuel cease-and-desist letters last week, the companies jointly signed Steve Harris of Cordo & Company to a $9,500-a-month contract.…

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Three lives saved with donated organs from 2-year-old Staten Island girl; grieving mom 'happy' to give precious gifts BY Heidi Evans NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Sunday, April 5, 2015, 2:30 AM Her hands trembling, and eyes brimming with tears, Patricia Almonte pressed a stethoscope to her ears and listened to her daughter’s heart beating in another little girl’s chest. “Oh, oh, my God,” the Staten Island mom sobbed, cradling 8-month-old Essence Walls in her arms. Almonte, 22, kissed the infant’s head and whispered to the pink princess, “Thank you. . . . That was such a miracle.” Essence Walls is just one of the lives saved by Almonte’s precious daughter, Veronica, when she died in December after complications from increased pressure on her brain. Justin Fordgay, a 2-year-old Brooklyn boy with a… http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/exclusive-3-lives-saved-organs-s-girl-age-2-article-1.2174089

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Pay for Performance Extends to Health Care in Experiment in New York By ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS MARCH 30, 2015 For a generation, doctors in New York’s economically depressed neighborhoods have been the ugly ducklings of the medical hierarchy. Many are foreign born and foreign trained, serve mostly minority and immigrant patients, and often run high-volume practices to compensate for Medicaid’s low rate of payment. Now these doctors are in the… Pay for Performance Extends to Health Care in Experiment in New York By ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS MARCH 30, 2015 For a generation, doctors in New York’s economically depressed neighborhoods have been the ugly ducklings of the medical hierarchy. Many are foreign born and foreign trained, serve mostly minority and immigrant patients, and often run high-volume practices to compensate for Medicaid’s low rate of payment. Now these doctors are in the…

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Times Union Provision would add 'skill' to VLTs Measure could create some 100 jobs and increase education revenue By Chris Bragg Published 8:49 pm, Monday, March 30, 2015 A provision in the state budget gives New York's racinos the green light to offer an expanded array of electronic gaming featuring elements of "skill" at video lottery terminal facilities. "The provision could include such games as certain types of electronic blackjack,… A provision in the state budget gives New York's racinos the green light to offer an expanded array of electronic gaming featuring elements of "skill" at video lottery terminal facilities. "The provision could include such games as certain types of electronic blackjack, three-card poker and other video lottery games where an element of skill and player interaction may be incorporated into games of chance," said state Gaming Commission spokesman…

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Crain's Health Pulse Oversight panel swoons over doctor-led network Friday, February 20, 2015 Advocate Community Partners was the highlight of yesterday’s meeting of the panel tasked with reviewing the DSRIP project scores for 25 Performing Provider Systems. The group is the only physician-led PPS of the bunch. DSRIP Project Approval Oversight Panel member William Ebenstein called the network the most exciting and innovative the oversight body… Advocate Community Partners was the highlight of yesterday’s meeting of the panel tasked with reviewing the DSRIP project scores for 25 Performing Provider Systems. The group is the only physician-led PPS of the bunch. DSRIP Project Approval Oversight Panel member William Ebenstein called the network the most exciting and innovative the oversight body had reviewed. He heralded the use of community physicians as the key to reducing avoidable…

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April 17, 2014 - Posted by Hendrik Hertzberg On Tuesday, the State of New York took a baby step—or maybe a giant leap!—toward making the United States of America something more closely resembling a modern democracy: Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill joining up the Empire State to the National Popular Vote (N.P.V.) interstate compact. As I’ve explained many times (fifty-one, to be exact), N.P.V. is a way to elect our Presidents the way we elect our governors, our mayors, our senators and representatives, our state legislators, and everybody else: by totting up the voters’ votes—all of them—and awarding the job to whichever candidate gets the largest number. And it does this without changing a word of the Constitution. Impossible, you say? No. Quite possible—even… http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2014/04/national-popular-vote-new-york-state-climbs-aboard.html

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The state looks to improve one of the country's worst-performing organ donation programs. THE ISSUE: The state looks to improve one of the country's worst-performing organ donation programs. THE STAKES: Transparency, not secrecy or trickery, will foster trust. Here's a statistic that's not worth bragging about: New York has the nation's third lowest rate of organ donor registration. It's hard to imagine we're that stingy a state. So we applaud lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo for being willing to take a fresh look at the donor… http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Editorial-A-new-way-to-N-Y-s-heart-5389903.php

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The New York Legislature approved a bill that would award the state's presidential electors to the winner of the national popular vote, if enough states agree to do the same. By Jessica Alaimo 6:10 p.m. | Mar. 25, 2014 ALBANY—The New York Legislature approved a bill tonight that would award the state's presidential electors to the winner of the national popular vote, if enough states agree to do the same. Both the Assembly and Senate overwhelmingly approved a measure that would allow the state to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which seeks to circumvent the Electoral College. With New York’s 29… http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/03/8542603/legislature-approves-national-popular-vote

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Comptroller DiNapoli approved an $8.3 billion Empire Plan contract to provide prescription benefits to state and local government employees with CVS Caremark through 2018. News From the Office of the New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli January 23, 2014, Contact: Press Office (518) 474-4015 DiNapoli Announces State Contract & Payment Actions for December State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced today his office reviewed 2,193 contracts valued at $9.8 billion and approved more than 2.3 million payments worth $11 billion in December 2013. His office rejected 205 contract transactions valued at $358… https://www.osc.state.ny.us/press/releases/jan14/012314a.htm

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The SEIU-1199 has restored its reputation as a political powerhouse in the city after helping to secure the election of the city’s two most powerful officials. BY ANNIE KARNI / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS SUNDAY, JANUARY 12, 2014 George Gresham was one of the first guests to arrive at Mayor de Blasio’s inauguration. The president of the powerful health care workers union SEIU-1199 took a seat in the front row of the VIP section, tucked himself under a blue blanket and stared up at City Hall with a serene look on his face. “I’ve never been as excited to be there since 1990,” Gresham said last week.… http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/health-care-union-emerges-powerhouse-article-1.1576786

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