Hochul Signs Bill to Remove Barriers to Addiction Treatment
In the latest of a series of steps Hochul has taken to change the direction of drug policy, doctors will no longer have to ask insurance companies for permission to prescribe opioid use disorder medications to Medicaid patients.
Sam Mellins · December 23, 2021

Demonstrators rally for an end to prior authorization in Albany in 2019 | Courtesy of Vocal-NY

Sam Mellins is senior reporter at New York Focus, which he has been a part of since launch day. His reporting… more
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New York State
The governor’s team coordinated meetings between her failed chief judge nominee and Senate Republicans in the days before a key committee vote, emails show.
Formerly incarcerated "peers" offer drug counseling to people in county jails — when they can get in.
A new bill would subject the state prison system to independent oversight for sexual assault complaints. The Senate has two weeks to bring it to a floor vote.
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Health
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