Gustavo Rivera for State Senate - The Latest News for You

 

SENATOR RIVERA'S WEEKLY UPDATE

SENATOR RIVERA RELEASES STATEMENT ON BIDEN ADMINISTRATION'S DECLARATION OF MPV/MONKEYPOX AS PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY

SENATOR RIVERA URGES FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO ISSUE AN EMERGENCY USE AUTHORIZATION FOR TWO KEY MPV/MONKEYPOX TREATMENTS

Senator Gustavo Rivera wrote to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra urging the federal government to consider issuing an Emergency Use Authorization for two MPV/Monkeypox treatments, TPOXX and the ACAM2000 vaccine. We must use every tool available to contain the spread of the virus, including cutting red tape to deliver treatment options that are constrained by administrative hurdles. Read it here.

SENATOR RIVERA PENS LETTER TO NEW YORK CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION URGING TO PREVENT HEALTHCARE COSTS

Senator Gustavo Rivera wrote to New York's Congressional Delegation urging them to prevent skyrocketing health insurance costs by extending critical premium assistance included in the American Rescue Plan, set to expire at the end of the year. Senator Rivera is sounding the alarm now along 20 of his Senate colleagues to prevent devastating disruptions in New Yorkers' health care system. Read letter here.

OUT IN THE COMMUNITY

SENATOR RIVERA AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS CELEBRATE INSTALLATION OF CRITICAL STOP SIGN

Senator Gustavo Rivera hosted a community walk and talk alongside Shanequa Charles to celebrate the installation of a new stop sign in a dangerous intersection located at Decatur Avenue and East 193rd Street. This is in response to a horrific accident that occurred two years ago, where a young community member was brutally injured by a speeding car. Following this incident, my office worked with Ms. Charles and the community to request that the New York City Department of Transportation ensures pedestrian safety in this dangerous intersection. With our City turning on 24-hour speed cameras this week, this is another necessary step to address reckless driving and stop the growing number of road injuries and fatalities in the Bronx.

SENATOR RIVERA CELEBRATES NATIONAL NIGHT OUT

Senator Gustavo Rivera joined residents in his district to celebrate the 38th edition of National Night Out Against Crime. He attended events held by the NYPD 46th, 48th, 49th, 50th, and 52nd Precincts. During the events, Senator Rivera presented certificates to notable community members, including members of our police force and local Precinct Community Councils. Senator Rivera strongly believes in the importance of strengthening police-community relations, which is critical to improving public safety in our city.

SENATOR RIVERA MARCHES IN THE BRONX DOMINICAN DAY PARADE

Senator Gustavo Rivera was proud to have marched in The Bronx Dominican Day Parade along the Dominican-American community in his district. It was his great honor to share such a joyous and significant occasion with a community that is so important to The Bronx and especially his district.

SENATOR RIVERA VISITS THE WOMB BUS AT ST. JAMES PARK

Senator Gustavo Rivera visited The Birthing Place's Womb Bus at St. James Park. With maternal mortality and morbidity being present at alarming rates in the Bronx and across the State, this bus provides expecting and new mothers in The Bronx access to information they need and deserve.  As Chair of the Senate Health Committee, Senator Rivera has achieved legislative victories to address the terrible crisis affecting primarily Black women. These laws include: Extending Medicaid coverage to new mothers from 60 days to a full year after giving birth, including undocumented immigrants (2022) Establishing a process for Midwifery Birth Centers to be able to open and operate in New York State (2021) Creating a State Maternal Mortality Board to review maternal death and recommend prevention measures (2019) Requiring hospitals to set protocols to prevent obstetric hemorrhage after birth (2019) To learn more about the womb bus, click here.

SENATOR RIVERA ATTENDS THE 52ND PRECINCT COUNCIL BREAKFAST

Senator Gustavo Rivera attended the 52nd Precinct Council's breakfast at Monroe College. A special thank you to 52nd Precinct and Brenda Caldwell, President of the 52nd Precinct Council, for her hard work and kindness.

SENATOR RIVERA ATTENDS THE BRONX CANNIBIS HUB LAUNCH

Senator Gustavo Rivera attended the Bronx Defenders' launch of The Bronx Cannabis Hub. Senator Rivera believes it is time for The Bronx to benefit first from economic opportunity after decades of devastating overcriminalization.  Senator Rivera would like to thank Bronx Cannabis Hub, Bronx Defenders, and the Bronx Foundation for an inspiring launch. He would also like to thank a national leader, Majority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer, who understands the importance of repairing harm and building wealth as he fights for federal decriminalization of cannabis.

Senator Gustavo Rivera was honored to attend the Bangladeshi American National Democratic Society's Street Fair as their Chief Guest in celebration of Eid al-Adha. Senator Rivera did not only get to meet some of his Bengali neighbors, but he got to learn more about the richness of Bengali culture.

BACK TO SCHOOL WITH SENATOR RIVERA

Senator Gustavo Rivera will host several Back to School events this month, where he will be distributing backpacks and hosting community resource fairs. On Friday, August 12, from 3:30pm-5:30pm, Senator Rivera will be at Bronx Park East and on Thursday, August 18 he will be at St. James Park from 3:30pm-5:30pm.  A limited number of backpacks will be available for the children who attend and they will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis. For more information, please contact his district office at 718-933-2034. IN THE PRESS SENATOR RIVERA IN THE GOTHAMIST Senator Gustavo Rivera's letter to Secretary Xavier Becerra was highlighted in a recent article on the Gothamist that focuses on how medical experts and legislators alike agree that the Biden administration must make the MPV/Monkeypox drug TPOXX easier to access as treatment.  SENATOR RIVERA ON CITY AND STATE'S BRONX POWER 100 LIST  Senator Gustavo Rivera was honored to be included on 2022 City and State NY Bronx Power 100 list. Senator Rivera is proud that his legislative victories and work on the New York Health Act are being recognized. He believes that there's a lot of work left to do and he is committed to continue to deliver results to reduce New York's health disparities.  SENATOR RIVERA ON SPECTRUM NEWS Senator Gustavo Rivera's letter urging New York's Congressional Delegation to take action to extend insurance premium subsidies included in the American Rescue Plan Act was covered by the press this week. Read this article to learn more about how Senator Rivera and his colleagues will fight to prevent the potential deep disruptions to New Yorkers' access to healthcare.

DiNAPOLI: LAX OVERSIGHT OF MEDICAID PAYMENTS BEHIND $700 MILLION IN IMPROPER PAYMENTS

 

Audit Finds Payments Were Made for Recipients Who Were Ineligible for Medicaid Managed Long-Term Care Program Coverage Also, $2.8 Billion in Payments Spent to Cover Managed Long-Term Care Patients Who Received Minimal Care  Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent on Medicaid Managed Long-Term Care (MLTC) costs for individuals who no longer qualified for the program, according to an audit by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The audit found that inadequate oversight by the state Department of Health (DOH) over a period of more than six years  resulted in over $700 million in overpayments for ineligible members and $2.8 billion for minimal services for eligible members. “My latest Medicaid audit found more examples of how oversight weaknesses impose unnecessary costs on taxpayers. This time, failure to effectively monitor money allowed $701 million worth of improper spending, and may have also led to unsatisfactory long-term care for eligible patients in need,” said State Comptroller DiNapoli. “I urge DOH to recoup any overpayments and improve oversight of its managed long-term care program so that patients receive the services they are entitled to.” Medicaid’s MLTC program provides long-term care services, such as home health care and nursing home care, to chronically ill or disabled patients. To be eligible, patients must meet certain criteria, such as needing community-based long-term care (CBLTC) services for more than 120 days. Some individuals are automatically enrolled in MLTC, others can choose to voluntarily enroll. DOH contracts with Maximus Health Services Inc. (Maximus) to assess whether individuals who voluntarily enroll meet the MLTC criteria. MLTC plans were responsible for doing semi-annual assessments of their membership to determine whether members still qualified to remain in MLTC and on their plans. Over the audit period examined from January 2015 to March 2021, auditors found  issues with MLTC plans’ review of member eligibility and their processes for removing members who no longer qualified for MLTC. In one example, Medicaid made 48 monthly premium payments to an MLTC plan from 2016 to 2021, totaling $151,490, on behalf of a patient who should not have been allowed to remain in the MLTC program. Despite their ineligibility, the member was continually assessed as eligible and needing MLTC. Besides ineligible individuals remaining enrolled in MLTC plans, in some cases, eligible members may not be receiving services that were paid for. Auditors found 626,435 payments, totaling $2.8 billion, that were made on behalf of 51,947 members who only received minimal services. MLTC is for chronically ill and disabled individuals who wish to remain home and in their communities. Yet, 42% of these members only received between 1 to 30 days of services during their 6-month assessment periods (e.g., a patient may have only received 1 day of service over 6 months, while another may have averaged only 5 days of services each month over 6 months). In some cases, MLTC plans received premium payments that significantly exceeded the services they paid for. For example, one MLTC member who was reassessed six times as requiring community-based care received fewer than 28 days of services during each 6-month assessment period. The state’s payments for this patient’s care totaled $268,724 over the 3-year time period, yet the patient received a mere $13,907 worth of services. Oversight of the MLTC program is critical because it helps ensure members get the care they need and contains costs. These are services that are more expensive than others because the premiums paid to MLTC plans are often higher than other types of Medicaid managed care. Individuals who are not eligible for MLTC but still eligible for Medicaid can be moved to less costly Medicaid coverage. MLTC plan officials and DOH attributed issues with membership management and service delivery to several factors including: the inability to get in contact with members believed to be ineligible; the COVID-19 pandemic; and DOH’s lack of systems to identify members who are not receiving services. DiNapoli’s audit recommended: A review of the $701 million in improper payments identified in the report to ensure overpayments are appropriately recovered; Development of a process to ensure timely MLTC disenrollment of members who are no longer eligible for MLTC care; Re-assessment of the process and time frame for disenrolling ineligible members from MLTC; Monitoring of MLTC enrollees to ensure they are properly assessed and receiving the appropriate level of care. In response to our audit, DOH generally agreed with the recommendations and indicated that actions are being taken to address them. Audit:  Medicaid Program – Oversight of Managed Long-Term Care Member Eligibility

ADAMS ADMINISTRATION RESPONDS TO CITY COUNCIL’S CONTINUED FALSE ATTACKS ON DOE BUDGET

 New York City Mayor Eric Adams administration’s Press Secretary Fabien Levy issued the following statement in response to the New York City Council’s continued false attacks on the budget process and the funds allocated to the New York City Department of Education for the upcoming year:

 

“Mayor Adams and Chancellor Banks are committed to providing every available resource to our students to provide them with the best education possible, and that is what this budget does.

 

“The city charter is clear: The mayor puts forward a budget, and the City Council votes on it — that is one of its most important duties. Both sides did their job, except now the Council refuses to stand by its vote and is, instead, repeatedly issuing misleading and irresponsible statements.

 

“The funding in the budget has been clear for months and was negotiated, reviewed, and voted on by the City Council with full transparency. The Council knew what it was voting for and knew it was the right decision. And in the months since the vote, our administration has continued to provide them with detailed responses to its questions.

 

“And let’s be clear about the facts — this budget includes more city funding than ever before and is responsibly adjusted to address both declining enrollment and the end of federal stimulus funding, all of which is currently allocated. There is no secret pot of funding, and the City Council knows this.

 

“As the speaker said on the day of the handshake agreement, ‘this is a budget, Mayor Adams, to be so proud of...that is good for every New Yorker, every community, and our entire city government.’”