Jun 06, 2005 — Hospice and Palliative Care of St Lawrence Valley is building new offices for their staff.  Go to full article

Apr 22, 2005 — The state's highest court next week will hear a case, which, if successful, could blow a more than $2 billion dollar hole in New York's health care budget. A consumer group is suing over the 2002 conversion of the state's largest Blue Cross-Blue Shield health insurance provider into a for-profit company, saying it was unconstitutional and harmful to the public. Karen DeWitt reports.  Go to full article

Apr 18, 2005 — This year's budget battle resulted in the first on-time spending plan in 20 years. It also produced modest Medicaid reform, including a cap on the rate of cost increases and a new preferred prescription drug list. But the fight over Medicaid exposed a deep rift within the New York State Association of Counties.
NYSAC suspended its president, Clifford Donaldson, for siding publicly with the unions and with the hospital association.
The organization's board wanted deeper Medicaid cuts than the unions were willing to accept. Donaldson is manager for Essex County and lives in Saranac Lake. He plans to meet with the NYSAC board's fifteen members about the dispute tomorrow. His regular term as president of the organization expires in September. He spoke with Brian Mann.  Go to full article

Mar 25, 2005 — Mercy of Northern New York in Watertown took what they hope is their first step out of bankruptcy in court on Monday. If they don't succeed, potential buyers of the health care facility are surfacing, and workers are choosing sides.  Go to full article

Mar 18, 2005 — The Senate voted 52-48 yesterday to reject President Bush's proposed 15 billion dollar federal Medicaid cuts. They supported a bill sponsored by Senator Hillary Clinton to form a bipartisan commission of experts to explore broader health care reform.  Go to full article

Feb 10, 2005 — Senator Hillary Clinton and co-sponsor Senator Lindsay Graham (R-NC) introduced legislation yesterday that would allow Guard and Reserve members to buy into the military's health care plan.  Go to full article

Feb 01, 2005 — The Governor has proposed cuts designed to slow the growth of Medicaid. His budget also includes new taxes on hospitals and nursing homes. Healthcare experts in the North Country say the double squeeze could force some facilities to cut services or to close their doors. Brian Mann visited Mercy Healthcare Center in Tupper Lake. More than sixty elderly patients could face eviction if the nursing home is forced to shut down.  Go to full article

Jan 26, 2005 — A state commission says an inmate at the Saratoga County jail committed suicide last spring after failing to receive proper medical and psychiatric care. James Pecor, age 25, had been living in Saranac Lake before his arrest. Brian Mann has details.  Go to full article

Jul 20, 2004 — The long-shot Democratic candidate for John McHugh's seat in Congress officially kicked off his campaign from the steps of the courthouse in Lowville yesterday. As David Sommerstein reports, Watertown-based surgeon Robert Johnson is running primarily as a health care reformer.  Go to full article

May 05, 2004 — A survey published this week found that more than three thousand people in the Tri-Lakes area are living without health insurance. The Adirondack Medical Center is heading a task force that hopes to cut that number by one-fifth over the next two years. Brian Mann spoke with AMC president Chandler Ralph, who says the hospital now spends a quarter-million dollars each year treating people with no insurance.

The survey published this week was conducted by SUNY Potsdam's Center for Applied Research. The study was paid for by Excellus-Blue Cross of Utica, a member of the Tri-Lakes Uninsured Task force. To learn about low-cost and free health insurance, call this toll-free number: 1-866-872-3740.  Go to full article