INVOLUNTARY COMMITMENT: A group of 36 mayors, county executives and other local officials across the state backed Hochul’s proposed laws to ease restrictions on involuntary hospitalization for people with mental illnesses in a letter to legislative leaders Friday. The coalition urged Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to include the governor’s proposals in the final budget, which would both loosen the criteria and allow providers like nurse practitioners to involuntarily commit people to psychiatric hospitals. Both legislative houses rejected Hochul’s involuntary commitment changes in their one-house proposals, leading the laws to become a sticking point during budget negotiations.
INSURANCE DENIALS: Startup Sohar Health raised a $3.8 million seed round to sell a platform to help clinical practices streamline insurance processing, the company said Friday. The Flatiron-based firm has built an artificial intelligence-powered platform to help providers verify patients’ insurance eligibility, reduce claims denials and provide pricing estimates. The funding round was led by Kindred Capital, a venture capital company based in London.
