Budget, boosters, BA.2- POLITICO

Good morning and welcome to Monday’s 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.

We’re still waiting on a budget in Albany. Lawmakers are back in town this week to finalize the spending plan for fiscal year 2023, which officially began on April 1.

Votes on the new budget could start as early as today. But “if a state budget is not adopted on Monday,” State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli has warned, “about 39,000 state workers may have a delay in receiving their paychecks” — including many who work in health care facilities.

The Senate and Assembly left Albany on Thursday as three-way talks between legislative leaders and the governor’s office stalled on an array of issues. Lawmakers told POLITICO that about a quarter of health-related budget items had been finalized as of then, with major issues like home care worker pay and immigrant health coverage still outstanding, POLITICO’s Shannon Young reported. (And POLITICO’s Albany team broke down where other key budget negotiations stand.)

The new state budget is not the only issue facing Gov. Kathy Hochul. With Covid-19 cases rising in parts of the state, the governor is reupping the state’s vaccination efforts. The governor announced Saturday that eligible New Yorkers can now get their initial Covid shots, booster shots and even second booster dose. (And state health officials released new guidance for the second booster.)

Health Commissioner Mary Bassett said Saturday that “providers statewide, including at the state’s mass vaccination sites, are ready to administer second booster doses for eligible New Yorkers.”

“For each of us, vaccination remains our personal best line of defense against COVID,” she added in a statement. “As we have seen with the recent increase of the Omicron sub-variant BA.2, COVID is still with us. These safe and effective vaccines remain free, including the second booster.”

ON THE AGENDA: Today the Office of Cannabis Management is launching a public education campaign on the state’s marijuana law with a late-morning event at the City College of New York.

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NURSING HOME RULES — Shannon reports: Gov. Kathy Hochul took executive action Thursday to extend the statewide disaster emergency due to health care staffing shortages. But she ended the suspension of the “safe staffing” direct care spending nursing home rules, which had been suspended under previous executive orders. Those rules took effect Friday.

— 1199SEIU union officials, who had called on Hochul to implement the nursing home rules, lauded the governor’s decision…