Q&A: New York’s plan for boosting life expectancy, neighborhood by neighborhood Health commissioner looks to basic income, community health workers, parks, and more

https://www.statnews.com/2025/02/07/nyc-chronic-disease-strategy-life-expectancy-michelle-morse/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8qAByjqj03zeKb0zSKjgY7MP0SLh_Ew_GLdmHZe798f2XsZeQApvhm4-5p0xHt-7tJYlqIHMCLXZENnyPHnB_uRGEfTQ&_hsmi=346170968&utm_content=346170968&utm_source=hs_email New York City is embarking on an ambitious plan to slash chronic disease rates and extend lifespans on the local level. To do so, acting health commissioner Michelle Morse and her allies will try everything from providing basic income to “prescribing parks” for neighborhoods. STAT’s Liz Cooney spoke to Morse about her roadmap. Increasing longevity is certainly an ambitious goal. How will you get there? This report is not just about wagging our finger at New Yorkers and saying, “Eat healthy.” It's about saying: How do we make it easy for all New Yorkers, no matter their economic patterns or level of poverty, to eat healthy foods and acknowledge that…economic marginalization is a big driver of chronic disease? How do you make change? We have extensive data, literally by community district, by borough, by neighborhood — data that showed us exactly where we need to focus our resources. If I know that the rate of diabetes in the Bronx is two times that in other places, or that the rate of diabetes in high poverty neighborhoods is two times that in low poverty neighborhoods, that gives me a roadmap for exactly where I need to take my interventions. Read the full Q&A here.