eedition Daily Mail October 18 2019

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The Daily Mail Copyright 2019, Columbia-Greene Media Volume 227, No. 206

Limiting pardons New law will weaken Trump pardons Inside, A3

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2019

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Highway contract feud drags on

nFORECAST WEATHER FOR HUDSON/CA TODAY TONIGHT

SAT

By Sarah Trafton Columbia-Greene Media Breezy with some sun

Mostly clear

HIGH 55

LOW 35

CATSKILL — Greene County lawmakers passed a resolution Tuesday to accept a fact-finder’s review of the county’s latest contract offer to its highway union and to set a public hearing on the matter for Nov. 20. “We reached a tentative agreement two or three times,” Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said Tuesday. Because the union votes down each agreement, the county declared an impasse and brought in a fact-finder to review the contract, he said. “They agreed that the

Sunny

File photo

59 37

Complete weather, A2

n SPORTS

Bluehawks to tangle with Bulldogs The Bluehawks have won two straight and will host rival Cobleskill-Richmondville tonight PAGE B1

n OBITUARY

Civil rights leader mourned Rep. Elijah Cummings, civil rights leader and key figure in impeachment inquiry, dies at 68 PAGE A5

n THE SCENE Olana hosts a day of fright Olana will share historic horrors along the Hudson as Pamela Schembri spins scary stories PAGE A8

n INDEX Region Opinion State/Nation Obituaries Sports Classified Comics/Advice

A3 A4 A5 A5 B1 B4-B5 B7-B8

The Greene County Highway Department at work near the Hunter Landfill. The county and the union representing highway workers have not resolved their long contract dispute.

county’s last, best offer should be implemented,” Groden said. Each party can agree or disagree with the fact-finder’s evaluation, Groden said. The county supports the findings, he said. The union held a meeting Wednesday. “If they deny it, we have to declare a final impasse and do a single-year contract,” Groden said Tuesday. “Then we are back to the negotiation table next year.” When asked Thursday the outcome of the union’s meeting, Groden said the topic is still being debated. See FEUD A2

Emergency room costs stymied by new law By Massarah Mikati Columbia-Greene Media

New York patients are now further shielded from out-ofpocket emergency room costs thanks to a bill Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law Thursday. The Patient Protection Act amends the historic 2014 law the state legislature passed to prevent surprise medical bills from emergency room visits. Health insurance companies are now prohibited from charging members who were treated in out-of-network hospitals for emergency visits, as well as inpatient services following the ER visit, more than they would patients who remain in-network. “In an emergency, every second counts and it’s ridiculous to expect someone facing a potential life-or-death situation to first check and see if a hospital is part of their health insurance network,” Cuomo said in a statement. “With this new law, insurers will need to do the right thing and make sure patients aren’t strapped with excessive and potentially debilitating outof-pocket costs tomorrow simply because they needed emergency room care today.” While the 2014 Surprise Medical Bill law regulated the prices of emergency room treatments by out-of-network providers in in-network hospitals, the Patient Protection Act shields patients from high medical bills if they visited out-of-network

File photo

Columbia Memorial Health in Hudson. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Thursday signed legislation protecting patients from excessive out-of-network hospital emergency charges, including hospital inpatient services that follow an emergency room visit. The new law requires health insurance companies to ensure that when enrollees receive care from a non-participating provider, the patient will not incur greater out-of-pocket costs than they would have incurred from a participating provider.

hospitals. A 2018 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that after the Surprise Medical Bill Law was enacted, out-of-network billing in New York was reduced by 34%, and

the cost of in-network emergency physician treatment decreased by 9%. File photo “Relieving consumers of the Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed legislation Thursday aggravation associated with protecting patients from excessive out-of-network hospital emergency charges, including hospital inpatient services that

See STYMIED A2 follow an emergency room visit.

Vaping, cannabis fears compel summit By Melanie Lekocevic Columbia-Greene Media

On the web www.HudsonValley360.com Twitter Follow: @CatskillDailyMail Facebook www.facebook.com/ CatskillDailyMail/

Courtesy of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Office

Gov. Andrew Cuomo co-hosted the Cannabis and Vaping Summit in New York City on Thursday, along with several other governors and state officials.

NEW YORK — Governors from several Northeast states convened in New York City on Thursday to discuss vaping and marijuana, and how regulations between states in the region can be made seamless. The Cannabis and Vaping Summit was hosted by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, along with Govs. Philip Murphy of New Jersey, Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania and Ned Lamont of Connecticut. Govs. Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island and Charlie Baker of Massachusetts also attended, along with health officials and legislators from several states. The health issues related to

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vaping, or which is the use of electronic cigarettes, took on greater urgency with the death earlier this month of a 17-yearold boy in the Bronx, who was New York’s first vaping-related fatality and the youngest in the nation. “This is a very important topic, and probably one of the most challenging issues I have had to address in New York,” Cuomo said, opening the summit. “It is complicated, controversial and consequential. If you do not do it right, you can do harm, and the whole point is, we want to do good.” Among the challenges of See SUMMIT A2


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