NYC Health + Hospitals starts unwinding emergency Covid operations

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 end of the federal Covid public health emergency on May 11 will have a number of implications for Americans’ health care costs and access to services.

Among them will be the downsizing of NYC Health + Hospitals’ extensive emergency Covid-19 resources.

The municipal health system recently announced plans to unwind its Covid operations leading up to the expiration of the emergency declaration, which brings an end to the funding that supported much of Health + Hospitals’ work.

Covid-related services will still be offered at the system’s hospitals and outpatient clinics, but the system is bidding a gradual goodbye to the many tents and vans deployed to bring tests, vaccines and treatment closer to where New Yorkers live.

On March 31, the system will close its Covid testing tents and relocate operations to its outpatient clinics.

Its fleet of mobile Test to Treat units will shrink from 40 to 20, then end completely by the time the federal emergency declaration expires.

The distribution of at-home Covid tests to the public will continue while supplies last.

“We can now transition the Test & Treat Corps emergency operations knowing that we have built a stronger, more responsive public health care system that can provide the appropriate level of services to our communities,” Mitchell Katz, president and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals, said in a statement on Friday.

IN OTHER NEWS:

— New York nursing homes are no longer required to conduct active Covid-19 screenings or verify that visitors test negative for Covid-19 before entering, in accordance with guidelines from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the state Department of Health said Friday.

“Enabling families to visit their loved ones safely remains a priority for the Department of Health,” acting state Health Commissioner James McDonald said in a statement. “Our new guidance aligns with CMS guidance and recommends that facilities use passive screening, which includes providing visitor and staff education on COVID-19 signs and symptoms, and post instructional signage throughout the facility.“

ON THE AGENDA THIS WEEK:

— Tuesday at 10 a.m. The City Council’s Committee on Health hosts a preliminary budget hearing.

— Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. The City Council’s Committee on Hospitals hosts a budget hearing.

— Thursday at 11 a.m. The FDNY hosts a public hearing on its proposal to raise ambulance rates.

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What you may have missed

— The New York Civil Liberties Union filed suit Friday against the NYPD, arguing that the department is illegally stonewalling its request for records on the involuntary commitment of people with serious mental illness.

The civil rights organization sent the NYPD a public records request in December asking for all policies and protocols developed pursuant to Mayor Eric Adams’ Nov. 29 directive, which expanded the criteria for involuntary commitment, and related training materials. The department said it wouldn’t respond until around May 1, 2023.

“For too long, society has ignored New Yorkers in need of connection to care,” City Hall spokesperson Kate Smart said in a statement. “The city’s compassionate plan will provide New Yorkers with serious mental illness the support they need and help them stabilize their lives. We will review the case.”

Odds and Ends

NOW WE KNOW — The CEO of Moderna made $398 million last year, including stock gains, but he is pledging to give most of it to charity.

TODAY’S TIP — Exercise and hydration could help you fight that sweet tooth.

STUDY THIS — Via NBC News: Pet ownership has many positive health effects, but sleep quality isn’t one of them, according to a study in the journal Human-Animal Interactions.

What We're Reading

— County leaders prepared to take legal action if budget includes Medicaid cost shift, New York State of Politics reports.

— School systems sue social media companies for unprecedented toll on student mental health, The Washington Post reports.

— California enters a contract to make its own affordable insulin, NPR reports.

— “Temp nurses cost hospitals big during pandemic. Lawmakers are now mulling limits,” Kaiser Health News reports.

— Via The Atlantic: The strongest evidence yet that an animal started the pandemic.

— OB-GYN workforce shortages could worsen maternal health crisis, Roll Call reports.

AROUND POLITICO

— CBO says growth in health spending continues to slow down, Ben Leonard reports.

— China has become a new funding source in the illicit cannabis industry, Natalie Fertig reports.

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