New York will no longer conduct active outreach for individuals who test positive for Covid-19, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from California, New York, and Washington.
- California: Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Monday announced a proposed plan to offer health care coverage to all low-income, undocumented residents as part of the $213 billion budget he requested for the 2022-2023 fiscal year. The proposed plan will go into effect "no sooner than" Jan. 1, 2024, if it is approved by the state legislature. Under the plan, Newsom proposed an initial investment of $819.3 million in 2023-2024, with an additional annual investment of $2.7 billion, to expand Medi-Cal to cover all adults between the ages of 26 and 49, regardless of immigration status. "As California's robust recovery continues, we're doubling down on our work to ensure all our communities can thrive," Newsom said. (Chen, Axios, 1/10)
- New York: Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) on Tuesday announced that individuals who live in counties that participate in state contact tracing will no longer receive a contact tracing call after testing positive for Covid-19. Amid record breaking Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations, omicron's shorter incubation period has further shortened the window to disrupt transmission—which is the intended purpose of contact tracing, said Mary Bassett, acting state health commissioner. Instead, residents have been encouraged to manage their symptoms on their own. Individual counties will be allowed to decide whether they want to continue active contact tracing. "It will help state and local health department staff focus on where we can make the biggest difference—that's in testing and vaccination," Bassett said. (Sim, Modern Healthcare, 1/11)
- Washington/California: Providence and Hoag on Monday announced that they would dissolve their merger of almost nine years on Jan. 31—an announcement that came after Hoag in 2020 sued Providence and claimed that the health system didn't hold up its end of their population health initiative. According to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian CEO Robert Braithwaite, the separation of the two systems will open new opportunities for collaboration. "Although we are formally parting ways, we will have other opportunities to work together on behalf of the community. We look forward to future collaborations with our colleagues at Hoag, whom we continue to hold in high regard," said Erik Wexler, president of operations at Providence. (Kacik, Modern Healthcare, 1/10)