PA Safety Net Admin, Author at Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania

Handicapping Medicaid Expansion in PA

Will he or won’t he?
That question is still on the minds of many as Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett continues neither to declare that the state will expand its Medicaid program as provided for in the Affordable Care Act nor to confirm the suspicion of most observers that he will choose not to expand the program beyond its current 2.2 million recipients.
As of right now, 12 states appear to be undecided about Medicaid expansion. The Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP) supports Medicaid expansion.
For a closer look at the situation in Pennsylvania, including an account of which interest groups are for expansion and which are not as enthusiastic as one might expect, read this column from the Central Penn Business Journal.

PA Safety Net Admin2013-02-01T06:00:35+00:00February 1st, 2013|Health care reform, Pennsylvania Medicaid policy|Comments Off

Pennsylvania Health Law Project Newsletter

The Pennsylvania Health Law Project has published its January 2013 newsletter.
Targeted to the very population that Pennsylvania’s safety-net hospitals serve, this month’s newsletter includes features on the benefits of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid eligibility, and the uninsured in Pennsylvania. It also includes links to articles and features relevant to the state’s low-income population and the health care providers who serve them.
See the Pennsylvania Health Law Project’s January 2013 newsletter here .

PA Safety Net Admin2013-01-31T06:00:57+00:00January 31st, 2013|Health care reform, Pennsylvania Medicaid policy|Comments Off

PA Prepares to Boost Medicaid Primary Care Rates

Pennsylvania will soon begin paying primary care providers more for the services they deliver to their Medical Assistance patients.
Under the Affordable Care Act, state Medicaid programs are required to pay primary care providers Medicare-level fees for calendar years 2013 and 2014. This policy was adopted as part of a broader effort to recruit more physicians to serve Medicaid patients at a time when Medicaid enrollment will increase significantly in most states.
Now, the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) is presenting its plan for how it will go about implementing this federal requirement.
DPW has issued a new Medical Assistance Bulletin titled “Medical Assistance Program Fee for Select Primary Care Services and Physician Attestation Form” that identifies eligible providers and explains how they can go about receiving the enhanced payments. That bulletin can be found here. DPW also has issued an attestation form through which providers can assert their eligibility for the enhanced payments; that form, and directions for completing and submitting it, can be found here.

PA Safety Net Admin2013-01-29T06:00:39+00:00January 29th, 2013|Health care reform, Medical Assistance Bulletin, Pennsylvania Medicaid laws and regulations, Pennsylvania Medicaid policy|Comments Off

States Finding it Hard to Say No to Federal Medicaid Money

While many of the nation’s governors have ideological problems with many aspects of the Affordable Care Act, it appears that more of them are preparing to accept one major facet of the bill with which they particularly disagree: Medicaid expansion.
When the law passed, the mandatory expansion of Medicaid eligibility was one of its most controversial aspects and encountered a great deal of resistance from many governors. When the Supreme Court ruled last year that the mandate was unconstitutional, many governors indicated that they would decline the now-optional Medicaid expansion.
But as the time for implementing the Medicaid expansion draws closer, more governors are concluding that the lure of millions, and even billions, of “free” federal Medicaid matching dollars is too hard to resist.
In addition, some governors are concerned about appearances if they turn down the federal Medicaid money while a clause in the reform act would enable legal immigrants in their state to receive health insurance premium subsidies while other low-income residents remain ineligible for those subsidies and uninsured.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett has not yet announced his decision on whether the state will expand its Medicaid program but appears to be leaning against such an expansion. The Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP) supports Medicaid expansion in the commonwealth.
Read about the challenges governors face in refusing the federal Medicaid money in this RealClearPolitics article and about the immigration twist on the issue in this Washington Post report .

PA Safety Net Admin2013-01-28T06:00:29+00:00January 28th, 2013|Health care reform, Pennsylvania Medicaid policy, Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania|Comments Off

Hearing Promotes Medicaid Expansion in PA

Democratic members of the state Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing in Philadelphia to promote expansion of the state’s Medicaid (Medical Assistance) program.
Participating legislators took testimony from representatives of a number of organizations that support Medicaid expansion, which is an optional component of the Affordable Care Act.
The Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP) supports Medicaid expansion in the state.
Governor Corbett has not yet announced his decision on Medicaid expansion but is thought to be leaning against it. The General Assembly members who held the hearing are in the minority party in the state senate.
Read more about the hearing, the issues, and the testimony offered in this Philadelphia Inquirer article.

PA Safety Net Admin2013-01-25T12:06:55+00:00January 25th, 2013|Health care reform, Pennsylvania Medicaid policy, Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania|Comments Off

Corbett Appoints eHealth Partnership Authority Members

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett has appointed members to the state’s new eHealth Partnership Authority.
The authority replaces the PA eHealth Collaborative. Its job is to oversee the development of technology-based means to facilitate the safe, confidential exchange of health information among providers.
Read the governor’s news release and see a list of the members of the authority here .

PA Safety Net Admin2013-01-24T06:00:27+00:00January 24th, 2013|Uncategorized|Comments Off

Greater Cost-Sharing in Medicaid’s Future?

States would be permitted to require greater cost-sharing from Medicaid recipients under a new regulation proposed by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
The proposed regulation, which also addresses matters involving state Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) and health insurance exchanges, would permit states to impose increased co-pays for non-emergency use of hospital emergency rooms and for non-preferred prescription drugs. The cost-sharing for non-emergency use of emergency rooms would be limited to eight dollars for Medicaid recipients with incomes between 100 percent to 150 percent of the federal poverty level but would have no limit for those whose income is beyond 150 percent of the federal poverty level.
Cost-sharing requirements of low-income patients pose a particular challenge for Pennsylvania’s safety-net hospitals. Many of their Medicaid patients cannot afford larger co-payments and often leave the hospital without paying them, thereby increasing hospitals’ bad debt.
Interested parties have until February 13 to submit comments to CMS about the proposed regulation.
Read a CMS fact sheet on the proposed regulation and find a link to the regulation itself here , on the CMS web site.

PA Safety Net Admin2013-01-15T12:25:35+00:00January 15th, 2013|Uncategorized|Comments Off

Western PA Hospitals Worry About Fiscal Cliff, Part 2

No sooner did hospitals in western Pennsylvania breathe a sigh of relief over escaping the worst possible scenarios in the fiscal cliff crisis than they looked ahead and saw the fiscal cliff sequel: March 1, when all Medicare payments will be cut two percent unless Congress acts to prevent that reduction.
With Medicare accounting for 40 percent, 50 percent, and even 60 percent of revenue in some western Pennsylvania hospitals, providers are concerned about the impact the two percent sequester could have on their overall financial health.
Such a loss would be especially hard to bear for the area’s safety-net hospitals, which typically have fewer insured patients than other hospitals and therefore are more dependent on their Medicare revenue.
Learn more about why western Pennsylvania hospitals are concerned about March 1 in this Pittsburgh Business Times article .

PA Safety Net Admin2013-01-09T06:00:09+00:00January 9th, 2013|Uncategorized|Comments Off

Will Fiscal Cliff Deal Make Medicaid, Medicare More Vulnerable?

The relative lack of spending cuts included in the fiscal cliff/Medicare doc fix deal passed by Congress last week could increase the pressure to reduce costs in key safety-net programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
Or so some policy analysts believe.
Many members of Congress supported the fiscal cliff bill only reluctantly because of it lacked the bigger spending cuts they sought, the thinking goes. Now, with another fiscal cliff deadline looming on March 1, when the previously passed sequestration law takes effect, many who compromised last week will be demanding bigger cuts in exchange for their vote.
As a result, Medicare and Medicaid, two of the federal government’s fastest-growing expenses, are expected to be targets for those in search of cuts. In addition, Medicare has proven to be among the first places many officials look in their search for savings.
Any attempt to implement additional reductions in Medicaid and Medicare, beyond those already scheduled to take effect through the Affordable Care Act and last week’s fiscal cliff bill, would be especially damaging to Pennsylvania’s private safety-net hospitals.
Read more about how last week’s budget solution is far from the end of the threat to Medicare and Medicaid in this Boston Globe article .

PA Safety Net Admin2013-01-08T06:00:47+00:00January 8th, 2013|Uncategorized|Comments Off

PA Paves Way for Primary Care Pay Raise

The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare has published a notice that it will increase the fees Medical Assistance pays for selected primary care services.
The pay raise, funded 100 percent by the federal government, is part of the Affordable Care Act.
For further information about the pay raise, which physicians qualify for it, and how they can receive the pay raise, see the notice here, in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
In addition, members of the Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP) have received a detailed memo outlining the terms of the Medicaid primary care pay raise. Members who have not seen the memo and others who would like a copy can request it at info@paysafetynet.org.