Governor Kathy Hochul delivered her second State Budget address this afternoon.  The Governor began the address by noting that the general economic outlook is far less rosy than it was last year.  Nonetheless, the Governor presented an optimistic vison of the State’s finances and progress for the upcoming year, as New York expects to end its current fiscal year with an $8.7 billion surplus as the result of increased tax collections throughout the prior fiscal year.  For Fiscal Year 2024, the Governor is proposing a $227 billion budget, which represents a 2.4% increase over the prior year budget.

For those of you who got an early start, please go back and check the fees again as the revised fee schedule has just been posted. Please make sure you are using the most up to date fee schedule when sending your claims to Medicare or billing your patient prior to submitting claims if you are non-participating.

Today, Governor Kathy Hochul delivered her second State of the State address.  While this was her second address, it was her first address as the elected Governor.  During her address, Governor Hochul laid out her vision for leading New York State. The Governor set an optimistic and hopeful tone for the future of the State but noted that there was much to be done to reach that future.  The Governor pledged a collaborative approach, aiming to work with the Legislature, municipalities, and businesses across New York for the people of New York State.

Join your fellow healthcare professionals and the New York Yankees for select games in May at Yankee Stadium. The dates for the games are May 8-14, 2023

NYSCA members have asked for updates on the Medicare fee schedule. As of now, there are no changes and no changes are anticipated until the House leadership is sorted out.

We would like to take a moment to express our extreme gratitude to our lobbyist, Amy Kellogg, for her efforts in advancing and ultimately achieving passage of the Opioid Bill (A273/S4640) into law.

On May 25, 2022 we announced that our coalition conservative care bill (opioid bill), A273 sponsored by Assemblymember Gottfried and S4640 sponsored by Senator Rivera, had passed both the Assembly and the Senate.

Introducing a Financial Wellness Seminar for NYSCA Members

We hear every day that many Americans are not financially prepared for their future. People find the financial planning process overwhelming, and they don’t know where to begin.

For many employers, the end of the year brings many important tasks, deadlines, and legal updates. To assist you with your year-end projects and planning for 2023, this LEGALcurrents provides a summary of some recent developments and reminders as we begin the new year.

Medical Xpress: Chiropractic spinal manipulation associated with reduction in low back surgery

A recent study from University Hospitals (UH) Connor Whole Health has found that adults who initially visit a chiropractor to receive spinal manipulation for low back pain caused by disc herniation or radiculopathy (i.e., sciatica) are less likely to undergo discectomy (i.e., disc surgery) over the subsequent two years. This study was recently published in the journal BMJ Open.

This week, the Senate and Assembly held leadership votes for their respective houses, and both houses reelected their current leadership. In the Senate, Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins was reelected as Majority Leader while Senator Rob Ortt was reelected as Minority Leader. In the Assembly, Assemblymember Carl Heastie was reelected as Speaker while Assemblymember Will Barclay was reelected as Minority Leader. These leadership reelections will not become finalized until the new session convenes and a vote of the newly elected members in both houses is held on the floor. This vote will take place the first day of the legislative session, Wednesday, January 4, 2023.

Dr. Bethany Buryta’s NYSCA involvement began in 2017, about 2 years before she even began practicing in the great state of New York.

Did you know that over 50% of all Veterans have been diagnosed with musculoskeletal disorders? And among those, back pain and spine impairment have been documented as a leading cause of disability among Veterans, with low back pain increasing by 5% each year.

Last night, we sent an update that gave a general overview of the key takeaways from Election Day. We wanted to send another update that provides more granular detail on where we stand in the light of day. We want to note that there are still a number of races that are too close to call in the State Legislature, but there are additional key takeaways. We also wanted to note that Republican Gubernatorial candidate Representative Lee Zeldin has officially conceded the race to Governor Kathy Hochul.

Today was Election Day in New York and across the country. As it is an even numbered year, all statewide offices, seats in the New York State Senate and Assembly, U.S. House of Representatives, Senator Schumer’s senate seat and a variety of local races were on the ballot. There was also one ballot initiative for voters to decide on. This was the first election cycle for statewide candidates since New York adopted early voting. More than 1.1 million New Yorkers voted early, and thousands more cast absentee ballots. While we know the results of the early and election day votes, the absentee ballots will continue to be counted as they arrive at county boards of election throughout the state. The counting of the absentee ballots means that the results from many races will not be finalized for days, and perhaps weeks, to come. However, there are still many decisive results from today’s election.

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Many of our members have contacted the NYSCA Insurance Committee after receiving notice from the NY Workers' Compensation Board to renew their authorization to treat injured workers. This was covered extensively at the NYSCA workers' compensation presentation at the Fall Convention and during our workers' compensation webinars.  

Election Day is right around the corner. The General Election will happen on Tuesday, November 8. Friday, October 14 is the deadline to register to vote in New York. Absentee ballots must be requested by October 24, and early voting will run from Saturday, October 29 to Sunday, November 6.

The co-chairs of the Legislative Committee wanted to provide a legislative update on NYSCA’s legislative activities in Albany.  During the 2022 legislative session, our Legislative Committee worked actively with our government affairs attorney on several legislative priorities for the Association. 

Scope modernization remains our main legislative priority.  The scope bill numbers are A4358 and S1319.  The Assembly bill is sponsored by Assemblymember Daniel O’Donnell and the Senate bill is sponsored by Senator James Gaughran.  Both our sponsors understand the need for scope modernization and for doctors of chiropractic to practice to the full extent of our education and training. While the scope bill did not see movement during this session, we had many conversations about the need for this legislation and have developed next steps to get this legislation advanced. We also wanted to note that for the next legislative session, we will have a new Senate sponsor as our current sponsor, Senator Gaughran, did not seek reelection to the Senate. We want to thank you him for his support of the profession over his tenure as a Senator, and we wish him the best in his next endeavor.