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The Legal Aid Society, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, and the Sylvia Rivera Law Project lauded a decision rendered by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) that acknowledges gender non-conforming New Yorkers’ right to health coverage under Medicaid.
“No New Yorker should be denied medically necessary, gender affirming health care, and we are glad to see that Albany finally recognizes this right,” said Heidi Bramson, Staff Attorney with the Health Law Unit at The Legal Aid Society. “The Legal Aid Society is hopeful that this historic, precedent setting decision will inform insurance plans, health care providers, judges and gender non-conforming individuals that health care discrimination on the basis of gender identity is illegal and it has no place in New York.” “We are pleased with the Department of Health’s decision in this important case, which should further cement the rights obtained in Cruz v. Zucker - that transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming New Yorkers have access to medically necessary, gender affirming health care,” said Wesley Powell, partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher. "It is upsetting for AV and every other non-binary New Yorker that legal intervention was necessary in this case. It should be understood that every New Yorker must be provided with healthcare regardless of gender identity and expression. We hope that the Department of Health takes this issue seriously and begins to inform more New Yorkers of their right to access healthcare and that the Department of Health enforces the true scope of the Cruz ruling with all their contracting health and insurance companies,” said Mik Kinkead, Staff Attorney with the Sylvia Rivera Law Project. Background In 2014, The Legal Aid Society, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project and Willkie Farr & Gallagher filed Cruz v. Zucker to challenge a New York State regulation that banned Medicaid coverage for transgender health care. That case led to a repeal of the ban and an amended regulation, which became effective in December 2016, requiring Medicaid coverage for all medically necessary transgender health care for individuals diagnosed with gender dysphoria (GD). The Legal Aid Society now regularly represents transgender Medicaid recipients to enforce the right to gender affirming care secured through Cruz v. Zucker. AV is one such client. AV is a 27-year-old transgender person and identifies as non-binary. On February 22, 2017 AV’s doctor requested Medicaid coverage for a reduction mammoplasty as medically necessary treatment for AV’s GD. This procedure was denied by AV’s Medicaid plan, Healthfirst. AV requested a fair hearing to challenge the denial, which was held on June 8, 2017. The Decision, issued by New York State on June 14, 2017, upheld Healthfirst’s denial. Disturbingly, the administrative law judge (ALJ) found that the regulation does not apply to non-binary individuals, thereby imposing a requirement that does not exist within the regulation: that individuals must be transitioning strictly either from male to female or from female to male. On October 6, 2017, Legal Aid submitted a request for a corrected decision. However, despite months of waiting, Legal Aid did not receive a response. In January of 2018, a group of advocates addressing the ongoing barriers to gender affirming care for transgender people sent a letter to the New York State Department of Health (DOH) alerting them to these challenges. In this letter, AV’s case was mentioned and a request for intervention was made. While DOH did eventually respond to Legal Aid in late March, stating that they were considering our request, there was still no resolution or significant movement weeks later. On April 27, 2018, Cruz counsel sent a letter to New York State’s Office of the Attorney General alerting it that the erroneous fair hearing decision was a violation of the final judgment and order in Cruz and informing it of our intention to file a motion to enforce the judgment. One week later, on May 4, 2018, DOH informed Legal Aid that AV’s fair hearing decision would be vacated because the regulation does provide coverage for non-binary individuals and that a new decision would be issued ordering coverage for AV’s medically necessary health care. That decision was issued on May 11, 2018. The decision is accessible here.
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 The Central New York pride parade and festival was held on June 21, 2014. The beautiful blue skies only added to the colorful celebration of beautiful people and lots of love! In honor of CNY Pride 2014 and Reflections of Pride Stone Wall 45, the famous National Grid art deco building in downtown Syracuse New York was lit up in Lavender during pride week. This is a huge movement for the celebration of CNY Pride and the movements and struggles of the LGBT communities. For years, the sister building in New York City- Empire State Building has cast it's rainbow lights, and now Syracuse can stand tall in colored lights as well. Green Lakes State Park in Upstate New York - featured in the "60 Seconds or Less" series of travel videos by Connextions Magazine.
 There’s Something About the Salt – in Syracuse Forget smothered and covered, try salted and buttered. The Syracuse, New York, area is known for its history of salt production. During the 1800s, salt springs located around Onondaga Lake were used to create table salt that was distributed throughout the northeast by boat along the Erie Canal. Irish salt miners would bring a bag of small, unpeeled, substandard potatoes to work each day and for lunch, they would boil the potatoes in the "free-flowing" salt brine. Hence, the origination of a regional favorite in Syracuse was born -- the salt potato. What sets this potato apart from sprinkling salt on a Yukon gold? Salt potatoes are smaller and rounder than the average spud. When cooked in the required 2 cups of salt, it gives the skin a nice seasoning and crispy exterior, while leaving the inside tender and creamy. Don’t let the 2 cups of salt scare you away, as it doesn't permeate the flesh of the potato but rather, seals the potatoes so they never taste waterlogged. Typically served in summer when the young potatoes are first harvested, they are a given at any outdoor function. No matter what type of gathering, whether its a home bbq, a local field days festival or the Great New York State Fair, the salt potatoes will be there, served in a bowl and saturated in melted butter. If this is a new experience for you, make sure to try the best - Hinerwadel's Famous Original Salt Potatoes. The first packaged salt potatoes were sold by local entrepreneur, John Hinerwadel in the 1960s. Today, the company sells a million bags of salt potatoes annually.  CNY Pride in Syracuse, New York This year's annual pride parade and festival was held on June 15, 2013 on the canal at Inner Harbor in downtown Syracuse. Thousands of visitors enjoyed blue skies, rainbows, and a stage full of entertainment! Festivities included: live music by Julia Weldon, Feeding Affliction, Johnathan Celestin and Bear Crusader. Local and regional female impersonators will also perform. The festival features food and beverages, booths staffed by LGBT-related community groups and allies, vendors, and a children’s play area. The Festival begins at 11:30 a.m. and continues until 6 p.m.  We have been regular visitors at Ichiban Japanese Steakhouse for years, but were referred to try Koto Japanese Steakhouse. We enjoyed hibachi style dining at both Central New York restaurants.
The salad dressing at Koto was absolutely the best dressing I have ever tasted. It is a homemade ginger dressing but tastes like it may have a touch of honey mustard in it. It was a creamy mixture, unlike the more gritty ginger mixture at Ichiban. If I could have licked the bowl without embarrasement, I would have. Neither of the restaurants offered a swig of saki, which was disappointing. A favorite hibachi grill in New Jersey is Teppan in Jersey City, and a favorite moment of the night is when our hibachi chef uses his water bottle to stream the saki into our mouths! When visiting Ichiban, plan on at least a 2 hour dinner, from start to finish - including the tea that is delivered after your dinner show is complete. Unfortunately, at Koto we felt rushed and had finished our total experience in less than one hour, with no tea served after dinner. The restaurant and the bar at Ichiban are smaller than at Koto, but although they lack in square footage, they make up for it in friendly bartenders, great service and a cozy intimate and engaging environment. Both restaurants were pleasant and deserve an excellent review for quality of food and presentation. But if I were asked to choose one or the other, my vote would lie with Ichiban. Mainly for the inviting atsmosphere, along with the dinner variety that includes soup, salad and tea. Though, it would be difficult to go without the salad dressing and the Malibu Dragon from Koto! Click any photo below to enlarge and scroll.       Click to see more Gallagher Landscapes and learn about Stu Gallagher Photography.
 Hope provides one-to-one counseling, support groups, a telephone helpline, HOPELine newsletter and community education free-of-charge to all bereaved. Families, friends and professionals turn to HOPE for training, guidance and resources. HOPE's services and resources are used locally, nationally and internationally.
Click here to visit the website. Click here to read the feature article in Connextions Magazine. 
 Vivian M. Derrickson, CFP, CLU
Senior Financial Advisor East Syracuse, New York http://www.ameripriseadvisors.com/vivian.m.derrickson |
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