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The New York State Department of Health has extended telehealth coverage under Medicaid through Dec. 31, 2024. The increased demand for telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in expanded coverage of these services. Prior to the COVID-19 public health emergency, only 25 types of Medicaid providers were eligible for telehealth services reimbursements. The expansion enabled all Medicaid providers within Medicaid facilities to be authorized for reimbursements. (Talaga, 8/3)

The state of Connecticut has asked a Superior Court judge to close a Waterbury nursing home that is costing the state nearly $1 million a month to operate. The state took receivership of Waterbury Gardens in 2019 and has operated it since then. But in her most recent report, New Haven attorney Katharine Sacks, the appointed receiver who is overseeing the operation of the home, cited severe staff shortages, continued cash flow issues and problems with the building that make it infeasible to keep the facility open. (Altimari and Carlesso, 8/3)

A federal judge sentenced a former first-round NBA draft pick to 10 years in prison Thursday, saying he used his people skills to entice others to aid his $5 million health care fraud after he “frittered away” substantial earnings from his professional career. Terrence Williams, 36, of Seattle, was also ordered to forfeit more than $650,000 and to pay $2.5 million in restitution for ripping off the NBA’s Health and Welfare Benefit Plan between 2017 and 2021 with the help of a dentist in California and doctors in California and Washington state. Profits were generated by claims for fictitious medical and dental expenses. (Neumeister, 8/3)

A new labor-backed campaign plans to spend at least $50 million ahead of the 2024 election to put child and senior care legislation back on the priority list, after it fell out of President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda during his administration. The "Care Can’t Wait" campaign is focused on resurrecting parts of Biden's "Build Back Better" program, including universal child care and guaranteed paid family and medical leave that Democrats were forced to abandon due to opposition from Republicans and moderate Democrats. It will also push for billions in new spending for child and senior care. (Seitz-Wald, 8/4)

Wayne County plans to launch a three-year, $2.7 million initiative to install 100 air-quality monitors on streetlights and other posts across its 43 communities to track levels of air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and black carbon and other particulate matter. The aim is to provide real-time data to the county's 1.8 million residents about the quality of the air they're breathing and alert them when conditions are poor and could make it difficult to breathe or could exacerbate chronic health problems, county leaders announced Wednesday. (Jordan Shamus, 8/3)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: As Water Reuse Expands, Proponents Battle The ‘Yuck’ Factor

When Janet Cruz lost an April election for a Tampa City Council seat, she became a political casualty of an increasingly high-stakes debate over recycled water. During her time in the Florida Legislature, Cruz had supported a new law allowing the use of treated wastewater in local water systems. But many Tampa residents were staunchly opposed to a plan by their water utility to do just that, and Cruz was forced to backtrack, with her spokesperson asserting she had never favored the type of complete water reuse known as “toilet to tap.” She lost anyway, and the water plan has been canceled. (Robbins, 8/4)