NYC Mayor Adams defends involuntary removal of mentally ill people to hospitals
NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams on Monday defended involuntary removals of mentally ill people to hospitals and said his City Council critics need to get out of their 'sterilized environment' after a City Council report slammed the practice as inefficient and detracting from other long-term strategies to meet severe mental health needs.
The report, released Monday, found that the data the mayor's office has released on the program is incomplete, that it disproportionately targets Black New Yorkers and that many of those who are transported don't get inpatient treatment or long-term care.
It also found that involuntary removals were more than five times as likely to happen in private homes than in public spaces like the subway system — which runs against much of the mayor's argument for the program as a way to get those in need of help out of public areas.
'The Administration has continuously relied on involuntary removals as a catch-all solution without providing funding for the necessary treatment measures for people in need of long-term services,' Council member Linda Lee, who chairs the mental health committee, said in a statement.
Adams, asked about the report at his weekly press briefing, said the administration was trying to be 'as transparent as possible' on the program and highlighted how 'challenging' the issue of severe mental illness is.
'They need to move out of the sterilized environment of the City Council chamber, and they need to go and do what we do: Go to the subway system, look at the population in need,' Adams said. 'We're going to respond to that need.'
The mayor has been a major proponent of the practice of transporting people, whether they are willing or not, to hospitals if they appear to be unable to care for themselves. The directive has received harsh backlash from advocates, but has picked up some traction from other elected officials and some mayoral challengers.
Data from the administration and the Council's report found that Black New Yorkers made up 54% of involuntary transports despite making up 23% of the city's population overall.
'Look at the ethnic demographics of who's homeless,' Adams said in response. 'Look at the ethnic demographics of those who are charged with some of these crimes of pushing people on the subway system, slashing, et cetera. We're going to go where the issue is, and we're not going to play race politics.'
The Council suggested funding mobile help programs, establishing transitional support programs and expanding community-based clubhouse centers.
_____
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Lake Murray, Miramar access restored in budget passed by city council
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Weekday recreational access to two of San Diego's reservoirs — Lake Murray and Lake Miramar — was restored by the city council as part of its revision to Mayor Todd Gloria's proposed cuts to close a more than $250 million budget deficit. The reinstatement of the funding for boating and other activities at the reservoirs came after blowback from thousands of San Diegans in the form of petitions and public statements of concern over the suggested budget cuts. In earlier versions of the budget, the lakes would only be open on the weekends, saving about $400,000 per year for the city. San Diego approved its controversial trash fee: What's next? Ahead of the city council's vote to restore this funding, kayaker Steve DaLuz, who has been a central voice in the push for maintaining daily lake access, expressed fear in a conversation with FOX 5/KUSI about the impact of potential closures. 'I don't know what I'd do if they take this away from us,' he said. DaLuz, who is Type 1 diabetic, experienced a medical emergency three years ago after severe food poisoning on a fishing trip that landed him in a coma. Complications also led to an episode of cardiac arrest and the complete loss of his vision. Now, DaLuz and his two friends, Matt Hanna and Joe Zaso, kayak at Lake Miramar every week. For him, it is a form of therapy that has been an instrumental part of his road to recovery. 'I've lost probably the most important sense, which is sight. Now I come out here and smell and I hear the kayak going through the water. I focus in on the birds flying all around me, kids laughing,' said DaLuz. 'If I continue talking, I'm probably going to tear up,' he continued. 'That's how much it means to me.' It also means the world to his friends. 'For Steve, it's water therapy. For me, it's the same thing,' said Zaso. In a statement Tuesday night, Councilmember Raul Campillo celebrated the restoration of full lake access, specifically at Lake Murray, which is in his council district. 'The full restoration of Lake Murray access is a win for the thousands of San Diegans who made their voices heard loud and clear: we would not stand for this,' he said. 'This victory for District 7 and for lake users across the city is a testament to what's possible when we stand up together for what's right.' However, it is unclear whether this victory may end up being short-lived. Rachel Liang, director of communications for Gloria, expressed discontentment with the version of the budget the city council passed in a statement on behalf of the mayor's office issued Tuesday night. 'Last month, Mayor Gloria presented the City Council with a proposed budget that was responsible, strategic, and balanced,' the statement read. 'Today, the Council added tens of millions of dollars in new spending and changes, many of which raised concerns from both the Independent Budget Analyst and the City Attorney's Office.' Concerns grow over early plans to build in South Park canyon She further emphasized the mayor has a say over the final version of the budget, as he can veto individual line-items that may have been approved by the city council before signing it into law. However, the city council can override the veto with a two-thirds vote. 'Over the next several days, the Mayor and his team will closely review the Council's amendments to ensure the final budget meets the level of fiscal responsibility this moment demands, especially given the current economic uncertainty and global instability,' the statement added. The mayor now has five days to exercise his line-item veto authority to make final revisions or sign the budget into law. A final version of the budget must be signed by June 15. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Medscape
21 hours ago
- Medscape
Under Fire, Cleveland Clinic Backtracks on Copay Mandate
Faced with an uproar from outraged community leaders, the Cleveland Clinic has pulled back on its plan to refuse outpatient treatment to privately insured patients unless they pay copays before appointments. Now, patients with commercial insurance or Medicare Advantage coverage will be offered a new 0% interest payment plan if they can't pay their outpatient copays, the health system announced 3 days before the new requirement was set to go into effect on June 1. However, copays will still be required. As the system noted in a statement, 'in 2024, more than half of copays were not paid when Cleveland Clinic provided services.' Previously, patients were billed for unpaid copays, and interest-free payment plans were not available specifically for copays. Bradley Herring, PhD, a professor who studies health policy at the University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, told Medscape Medical News that Cleveland Clinic likely buckled in response to public backlash over the pay-or-else copay mandate. 'It's just not a good look, especially for nonprofit providers,' he said. But copays, Herring said, do have a purpose: To discourage patients from seeking healthcare they don't need. 'The goal is to try and cut down on some overuse of healthcare utilization,' he said. 'If you can increase some cost sharing and have the patient pay something, that might cut down on some of those patients who don't really benefit from it a lot.' How the Copay Policy Was Supposed to Work? The Cleveland Clinic runs 23 hospitals and serves 3.5 million patients, mostly in Ohio. Earlier this year, it announced that it would require copays before or at check-in for outpatient appointments such as scheduled office visits, services such as physical and occupational therapy, outpatient diagnostic testing, and outpatient procedural visits. Emergency services, surgeries, inpatient hospital stays, cancer treatments were slated to be exempt. Urgent/express visits were to be excluded too 'at this time.' The new policy wouldn't have applied to Medicaid or traditional Medicare patients. 'If you can't make your copay,' the health system said, 'we'll help you reschedule your visit.' Critics put the clinic on blast at a City Council meeting in May. According to Councilman Richard Starr declared the policy is 'slap in the face' to local citizens. 'People are going to be scared to trust the hospitals because it's always about the dollar and not about the healthcare that is needed, and needs to be provided, for those individuals,' Starr said. A 69-year-old man told WKYC-TV that his monthly copays would cost nearly $500. 'In my opinion, it's making the Cleveland Clinic look like patient care is secondary and finances are first,' he said. 'I'm not happy with it, not one bit.' However, a health system representative 'told City Council that with $70 million in unpaid copays in 2024 and a slim 1.7% operating margin, the Clinic must collect more revenue to maintain services and invest in community programs,' reported. Why Do Copays Exist in the First Place? Cleveland Clinic's revised policy will still require copays to be paid by 'the time of service,' Cleveland Clinic Spokeswoman Angela Smith told Medscape Medical News. Will patients be refused care if they decline to pay even if they are offered a 0% interest payment plan? Smith didn't answer this question directly but said 'patients who do not have the means to pay for services provided at our facilities may request financial assistance.' Alison Evans Cuellar, PhD, MBA, professor of Health Administration and Policy at College of Public Health, George Mason University, in Fairfax, Virginia, told Medscape Medical News that copays translate to higher prices for consumers and lower demand overall. The Affordable Care Act eliminated some cost sharing precisely because of evidence that patients forgo valuable care when faced with copays or deductibles, she said. 'Not all care is high value and we want to avoid overuse but not for important preventive services, insulin, and so forth.' 80% of Something or 100% of Nothing Herring pointed out that copays are imposed by insurers, but providers collect and keep them. 'Margins are getting tighter,' he said, 'and you can understand the financial incentive to do something to try and increase that collection rate.' Providers could waive copays. But an online post by Jackson LLP, a healthcare attorney firm with offices around the country, noted that this can be legally dicey, especially if patients don't have proven financial hardship. For one thing, 'routinely or regularly waiving copays for Medicare or Medicaid patients poses several potential problems for your practice,' the post said. 'Because both Medicare and Medicaid are federally funded programs, you risk violating multiple federal laws.' Waiving private insurance copays can put providers in legal jeopardy too, the post said. On the other hand, there's a financial downside to cancelling an appointment because a patient doesn't cough up a copay, he said. 'To not provide the service right then and there, when you've got the provider ready to provide it, seems really wasteful.' If the copay is 20%, he said, 'isn't 80% of something better than 100% of nothing?'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
NYC opens new front in war on rats as contraceptive program kicks off in Harlem
Rats, not tonight, honey. The city just opened its latest front on its war against its most hated rodents — lacing rat bait around the city with birth control. The program kick-started on city property in Harlem last week — and is expected to cost nearly $600,000 annually for the anti-procreation pellets and a staff of five full-timers, including a city research scientist and pest-control aide, according to City Council documents. The move comes a week after UFO-like 'Empire Bins'' were put in the same Manhattan neighborhood to try to end curbside feasts for the relentless rodents. 'We're incredibly excited and optimistic about all the containerization work we're seeing in the city because that's reducing food competition — and really reducing a rat's ability to reproduce by cutting off its food source,' city rat czar Kathleen Corradi told The Post in an exclusive interview Monday. 'What the science tells us is removal of a food source, removal of those conditions that allow them to thrive, is how we get to achieve sustained production — and we're seeing really great results in that regard,' she said. The rodent 'contraceptive stations' rely on bait designed to specifically woo rats. The contraceptive pellets slow egg production in female rats and sperm mobility in males. The effort is part of 'Flaco's Law,' which the council passed after rat poison was linked to the death of the Central Park Zoo's beloved escapee Flaco the owl. The contraceptives are in tamper-resistant contraptions and pose an extremely low risk to humans, pets or 'non-target' wildlife, a city rep said. The city Health Department will conduct monthly inspections to track signs of rats in the area, according to the legislation. Once the pilot wraps in 12 months, workers will report to the mayor and council on whether the approach has been effective at curbing rats. Citywide rat sightings reported to 311 are down each of the past six months when compared to the same time period last year, coinciding with the city's new requirements for closed-lid trash containers. But not all areas around the city have seen a decrease in rat sightings. The community-board district where the contraception pilot program is in West Harlem has seen a 7.8% jump in rat sightings compared to this time last year, according to a Post analysis of 311 data. Corradi argues that the city's efforts are only as good as property owners' compliance from waste containerization to outdoor dining regulations. '[Human] behavior change is hard,' she said. 'We are doing integrated pest management on city-owned properties, but then the 98% remaining of the tax lots that are privately owned properties, that's up to the property owners to choose what mechanisms they're doing when it comes to [rat population] control.' Corradi added that when one area has success combatting the rodents, she doesn't expect hungry rats to simply migrate to other parts of the city in search of food because the rodent species is 'by nature, hyperlocal. 'Typically, these animals don't travel 100 to 300 feet from where they're living to their food source,' she said.
