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Medicaid: 5M New Yorkers to receive better dental coverage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:42 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (WTEN) -- Around five million New Yorkers using Medicaid will be getting expanded dental coverage. This is the result of a federal class action lawsuit against the Department of Health from 2018 resulting in a settlement. Low-income New Yorkers can finally get root canals, crowns "The New York Medicaid dental program has clinical standards that are really… stuck in the 50s and 60s," said Belkys Garcia, a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society who previously worked in the health law unit. She said many of her calls consisted of people being denied Medicaid for what seemed to be basic dental needs. "Like a root canal or a crown, what New York does instead is pull molar teeth. There’s no coverage, no Medicaid coverage for molar teeth, once you’re over 21 years-old and the thing to do in those cases is to try to change the rules," she said. The lawsuit claimed that thousands of low-income New Yorkers are being denied medically necessary dental care by New York State. Ga...

NYS Budget bills being debated

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:42 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)-- The budget is now officially a month late, but progress is being made to pass it soon. Lawmakers are now debating budget legislation. This comes after some of the bills were printed Monday morning and over the weekend.Senate majority leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins told reporters, "It’s got to be the beginning of the end now."When asked if it was worth the wait, Stewart-Cousins said she would have liked the budget to be done sooner."This has been a very policy laden budget and a lot of the policies had to be parsed through, so we did," said Stewart-Cousins. "I’m happy to the extent that I think we have a budget that has significant wins for the people of New York, and we are ready to pass it and go on to the next."Republican Assemblyman, Chris Tague weighed in."It’s a good feeling to be close to the end, but the whole process has been a disaster," said Tague. "Again, we are probably going to go into today, probably with a message of necessity from the governor....

Saratoga County Career Center announces May workshops

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:42 GMT

BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Saratoga County Career Center has teamed up with the Greater Capital Region Career Centers to hold several workshops in May. The events will all be conducted virtually and are free to attend. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The workshops are offered as part of the Saratoga County Career Center’s WorkPays! workforce education campaign. The Saratoga County Department of Workforce Development offers thorough training and employment services to residents through its Career Center, and works with local businesses to bring in and retain members of the local workforce. The following is a list of all the workshops planned for May. Included are the focuses for each individual workshop, as well as who will be facilitating them.May 3 at 10 a.m. - Resume Development, facilitated by Rensselaer & Columbia-GreeneMay 4 at 11 a.m. - Transferable Skills, facilitated by Warren and AlbanyMay 9 at 10:30 ...

Pictures: Illinois dust storm causes I-55 pile-up

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:42 GMT

A windstorm in south-central Illinois kicked up clouds of dust Monday, causing numerous crashes, pileups and “multiple fatalities” on Interstate 55, police said.The crashes occurred late in the morning and involved 40 to 60 passenger cars and multiple tractor-trailers, two of which caught fire, Illinois State Police Maj. Ryan Starrick said. The highway was shut down in both directions in Montgomery County, 75 miles north of St. Louis.“The cause of the crashes is due to excessive winds blowing dirt from farm fields across the highway, leading to zero visibility,” Starrick said at a news conference.He reported that there were “multiple fatalities” but did not give an exact number, saying that would be released later in the day.Image credit: Nathan Cormier - Illinois dust storm Image credit: Nathan Cormier - Illinois dust storm Image credit: Nathan Cormier - Illinois dust storm Image credit: Nathan Cormier - Illinois dust storm Image credit: Nathan Cormier - Illinois dust storm Image c...

Former Creve Coeur pharmacy owner admits paying kickbacks for prescriptions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:42 GMT

ST. LOUIS – The owner of a mail-order pharmacy in Creve Coeur appeared in federal court on Monday and admitted defrauding federal Medicare and state Medicaid programs of more than $5.5 million through an ongoing kickback scheme.Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Michael McCormac, 55, pleaded guilty to two counts of violating the Anti-Kickback Statute.A federal grand jury indicted McCormac in October 2021.According to the plea agreement, McCormac paid kickbacks to marketing companies for prescription referrals for topical creams and oral medications, as well as antibiotic and antifungal drugs, which were filled by McCormac’s company—GoLiveWell Pharmacy—and reimbursed by federal health insurance. Top Story: 2 more prosecutors resign from Kim Gardner’s office McCormac told the court he paid the kickbacks as percentages or margins (net profits on each prescription), and that he was aware patients did not have a valid doctor-patient re...

Series of earthquakes shake Tennessee town near Missouri's Bootheel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:42 GMT

RIDGELY, TN -- The epicenter of over ten earthquakes over the past three days has been in one Tennessee town near the border with Missouri. The last earthquake was a 2.8 magnitude quake in Ridgely, Tennessee Monday afternoon. The seismically active area around Missouri's Bootheel is known for one of the largest earthquakes in US history.Earthquakes happen nearly every day near New Madrid, Missouri. The number and frequency of earthquakes centered in Ridgely is not typical. They have been happening over the past three days and range in strength from 1.6 to 2.8 on the Richter scale. Dust storm closes I-55 in southern Illinois and causes massive pile-up The New Madrid Seismic Zone is located in Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky. It is named after the town of New Madrid, Missouri. The town was at the epicenter of a series of powerful earthquakes that occurred in 1811 and 1812.The area is a geologically complex region where multiple fault lines intersect. This makes it par...

Students treated for possible overdose at L.A. middle school

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:42 GMT

Several students were hospitalized after overdosing on an unidentified narcotic at Johnnie Cochran Middle School in Los Angeles’ Arlington Heights neighborhood on Monday.L.A. Fire crews responded to the school near Crenshaw and Washington boulevards around 11:30 a.m. after receiving reports of at least three children “with altered level of consciousness after possible exposure or ingestion of a yet unknown substance,” the Department said.According to Sky5 reporter Rich Prickett, the students responded well after being administered Narcan, which reverses the effects of opioids. After student’s death, LA schools to carry overdose antidote Three were transported to an area hospital where "they arrived conscious and breathing in minor to moderate medical distress," officials said.L.A. Unified School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho used the incident to encourage students and parents to report safety issues."We remain hopeful for a full recovery of our students ... who suffered from a ...

Workers rally for better pay and conditions on May Day

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:42 GMT

Rallies are being held in Los Angeles Monday to commemorate International Workers' Day.Demonstrators in Chinatown said they were marching for better pay and conditions. More marches are happening throughout the day.Ellina Abovian reports for the KTLA 5 News at 1 on May 1, 2023.

Disneyland commemorates Make-A-Wish partnership with window dedication ceremony

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:42 GMT

The Make-A-Wish non-profit organization was honored at Disneyland on Friday to celebrate its long-standing partnership with The Walt Disney Company. The celebration came a day before World Wish Day, which was Saturday and marks the anniversary of the wish that inspired the non-profit.Disneyland dedicated three windows along Main Street U.S.A. to the Make-A-Wish organization to commemorate the partnership between the two companies.The Make-A-Wish non-profit organization was honored at Disneyland on Friday to celebrate its long-standing partnership with the Walt Disney Co. (Disney Parks Blog) One window was dedicated specifically to the Make-A-Wish foundation, while the others were dedicated to Chris Greicius and Frank “Bopsy” Salazar. Disneyland temporarily pauses ‘Fantasmic!’ performances after fire Greicius’ mother, Linda Pauling, started the Make-A-Wish organization after Greicius died of leukemia, while Salazar is the first recipient of an official wish granted by the organizat...

Johnny Depp was — surprise — difficult on set of comeback film, reports say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:42 GMT

There’s no doubt that Johnny Depp’s rabid online fans are excited to see him in a movie again, even in the French historical biography, “Jeanne du Barry,” set to open the Cannes Festival May 16.It remains to be seen whether other moviegoers will be so excited to see the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star in his first feature film in three years, after he supposedly extricated himself from the muck surrounding his lurid and protracted legal battles with ex-wife Amber Heard.Unfortunately for the “not-so-canceled” Depp, his comeback narrative, after winning last year’s defamation case against Heard, has been plagued with unflattering reports about his on-set behavior, according to Jezebel. The reports mention Depp’s tardiness — known to be a longstanding issue with him — as well as clashes and “screaming matches” with his French female director and co-star, Maïwenn Le Besco, known by the mononym Maïwen, th...