SNAP has asked Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation to support provisions in the federal FY 2023 omnibus spending bill that would delay a Medicare sequestration cut, restore reduced Medicare payments to doctors, and improve how Medicare Advantage insurers handle prior authorization requests.
SNAP has asked members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation to support efforts to delay implementation of a new four percent Medicare sequestration cut, protect doctors from a 4.5 percent Medicare payment reduction, and streamline the prior authorization process used by Medicare Advantage plans.
SNAP has asked members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation to co-sponsor and support bills (H.R. 3203 and S. 773) that would temporarily enable safety-net hospitals and others already eligible for the 340B prescription drug discount program to remain eligible for the program despite short-term changes in their admissions patterns brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The following is the latest COVID-19 information from Pennsylvania’s state government as of 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 19.
Election Update
Pennsylvania held its primary elections yesterday (Tuesday, May 18). Unofficial results show that the state’s voters approved two ballot questions that amend the state’s constitution and significantly curtail the governor’s authority to sustain an emergency disaster declaration: one that would permit the General Assembly to terminate a disaster declaration by a simple majority vote in both chambers and another that would limit the duration of a disaster declaration to 21 days and require a simple majority vote by the General Assembly to extend it beyond that time. Both questions were strongly opposed by Governor Wolf, who argued that the involvement of the General Assembly would limit the state’s ability to be flexible and respond in a timely manner to a disaster. The immediate impact of the ballot questions is unclear but a number of regulatory waivers and flexibilities are tied to the current COVID-19 disaster declaration. The amendments cannot take effect until the election results are certified, which could take until early June.
Yesterday’s elections also included special elections to fill several vacant seats in the legislature, with Republicans apparently retaining two seats in the state House. Republican Leslie Rossi is leading her Democratic opponent to replace the late Rep. Mike Reese and Republican Abby Majors will most likely succeed her former boss, Rep. Jeff Pyle, who retired due to health concerns earlier this spring.
Department of Health
Pennsylvania has adopted the new CDC standard for when people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 do and do not need to wear masks and need to seek COVID-19 testing if they believe they have been exposed to someone with the virus. See the Department of Health’s announcement of this policy.
At the same time, however, the Department of Health reminded Pennsylvanians that while fully vaccinated individuals may choose not to wear a mask, businesses or organizations, such as schools, still have the option of requiring visitors to wear masks. This is consistent with CDC guidance.
Department of Health – by the numbers
Department of Human Services
DHS has issued a Medical Assistance Bulletin adding two new COVID-19 antigen test codes to the MA program fee schedule effective with dates of service on or after November 2, 2020. Find the bulletin here.
Department of State
In recent months Pennsylvania authorized health care professionals who do not ordinarily administer vaccines to people under the age of 18 to administer COVID-19 vaccines to individuals 16 years of age and older. Now, consistent with recent federal approval for individuals 12 and older to receive COVID-19 vaccines, the Department of State has expanded this authorization so that the same health care professionals can now administer COVID-19 vaccines to people as young as 12 years old. See the Department of State announcement waiving the current vaccination limits.
Around the State
The following is the latest COVID-19 information from Pennsylvania’s state government as of 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 12.
The Wolf Administration
The Wolf administration has announced that event and gathering maximum occupancy limits will be raised for indoor and outdoor events and gatherings as of Monday, May 17. Mask requirements remain in effect, consistent with recent federal CDC guidelines, and the new state limits do not preclude municipalities, school districts, and venue operators from imposing stricter mitigation requirements. Learn more from this Wolf administration news release.
Department of Health
Pennsylvania has shifted to the federal vaccine locator site, vaccines.gov, as the primary web site to which it is now directing people who are looking for a place to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. On the site, individuals enter their zip code, the distance they are interested in traveling to receive a vaccine, and, if they wish, they can specify which vaccine they want. The site’s search function then generates a list of vaccine outlets beginning with those closest to the zip code. See the Department of Health announcement of this transition and go here to view the federal vaccine locator site.
The Department of Health has issued updated guidance for long-term-care facilities on how to respond to an outbreak of COVID-19 or when residents have been exposed to COVID-19. The updated guidance includes a new decision-support tool to assist with decision-making in response to outbreaks and also offers clarification about visitation during outbreaks. Find the updated guidance here.
Department of Health – by the numbers
Department of Human Services
DHS has issued an announcement that modifies October 2020 guidance and provides temporary closure guidance to older adult daily living centers, structured day programs, LIFE day centers, adult training facilities, and vocational facilities related to the community spread of COVID-19 or when more than one individual or staff member is diagnosed with COVID-19 and spent 15 minutes or more in the facility within a 24-hour period starting two days prior to symptom/illness onset, or for asymptomatic individuals, two days prior to the test specimen collection date, until the time the person is isolated. This announcement also describes the process for reopening facilities using the Community Participation Support and Older Adult Facility Reopening Tool and provides guidance for mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in facilities. For a list of the types of facilities and programs to which this guidance applies and to see the modified guidance itself, see DHS’s announcement.
U.S. Treasury Guidance to State and Local Governments
The Treasury Department posted an interim final rule, not yet published in the Federal Register, on Monday implementing the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund and the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund established under the American Rescue Plan Act. The interim final rule addresses uses of the $350 billion from the American Rescue Plan, including for public health expenditures, addressing the negative effects of the public health emergency, replacing lost public-sector revenue, providing premium pay for essential workers, and more. This guidance will be key to FY 2021-2022 budget deliberations and how the governor and General Assembly ultimately decide to allocate these funds.
Learn more from the following resources:
Around the State
The Pennsylvania Health Law Project has published its April 2021 newsletter.
Included in this month’s edition are articles about:
Read about these subjects and more in the Pennsylvania Health Law Project’s April 2021 newsletter.
The following is the latest COVID-19 information from Pennsylvania’s state government as of 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 4.
Governor Wolf
The Wolf administration announced that mitigation orders except masking will be lifted in Pennsylvania on Memorial Day, Monday, May 31 at 12:01 a.m. The current order requiring Pennsylvanians to wear masks will be lifted when 70 percent of Pennsylvanians age 18 and older are fully vaccinated. Face coverings are required to be worn indoors and outdoors for people away from their homes. Requirements such as testing and reporting new cases will remain in place for hospitals and long-term-care facilities. These updates do not prevent municipalities and school districts from continuing and implementing stricter mitigation efforts. The governor’s Proclamation of Disaster Emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic remains in place. Learn more from this Wolf administration announcement.
Governor Wolf announced a partnership with Rite Aid Pharmacy to facilitate access to COVID-19 vaccinations for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. People with an intellectual or developmental disability and their caregivers can call DHS’s Office of Developmental Programs vaccination call center at 1-800-424-4345 to request a COVID-19 vaccine appointment for themselves and/or their caregivers. The call center will give Rite Aid the names and locations of individuals who need to be vaccinated and Rite Aid will contact callers to schedule vaccinations at a Rite Aid location near the caller. Learn more about how this process will work and who is eligible for vaccinations using it in this Wolf administration news release.
Department of Health
The Department of Health has established a new walk-in COVID-19 testing center in Luzerne County and is moving its current Centre County facility to a new location. Find further information about hours and locations in this Department of Health news release.
Department of Health – by the numbers
Around the State
The following is the latest COVID-19 information from Pennsylvania’s state government as of 3:30 p.m. on Friday, April 30.
Department of Health
Department of Health – by the numbers
Department of Human Services
DHS has issued a reminder to providers that it increased the Medicaid fee for administering COVID-19 vaccines to $40 effective March 15. See DHS’s latest announcement here and its most recently updated fee schedule for administering COVID-19 vaccines here.
DHS has published a Medical Assistance Bulletin informing providers that effective July 1, 2021 it will reinstate the prior authorization requirements that were in place on February 29, 2020 and suspended in Provider Quick Tip #241 in the Medical Assistance fee-for-service delivery system for all services with the exception of shift care services provided to children under the age of 21. Provider Quick Tip #241 was issued in response to the COVID-19 emergency.
Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council
PHC4 has released COVID-19 hospitalization data for the seven-month period from March 1, 2020 through September 30, 2020. Learn more from PHC4’s news release and from the various data elements PHC4 has produced.
Around the State
The following is the latest COVID-19 information from Pennsylvania’s state government as of 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 28.
Governor Wolf
State and local agencies are launching a multi-faceted approach to bringing COVID-19 vaccines to Pennsylvanians who cannot leave their homes, the Wolf administration explains in a news release.
Department of Health
Department of Health – by the numbers
General Assembly
Around the State
The following is the latest COVID-19 information from Pennsylvania’s state government as of 4:00 p.m. on Friday, April 23.
Governor Wolf
Governor Wolf has issued an executive order about regulatory relief post-COVID-19, calling on state agencies to recommend actions to reduce or eliminate regulatory impediments to economic, health and safety, and employment recovery. The order, directed at all departments, offices, boards, commissions, and councils under the governor’s jurisdiction, applies to all regulatory statutes or parts thereof temporarily suspended under 35 Pa. C.S. § 7301(f) from March 6, 2020 to the present and to all regulations or parts thereof temporarily suspended under 35 Pa. C.S. § 7301(f) from March 6, 2020 to the present. Agencies that suspended regulations are directed to evaluate the legal, administrative, public health and safety, and fiscal effects of maintaining the suspensions outside of the COVID-19 disaster emergency; to recommend whether the suspension should be made permanent and which regulations should lapse after COVID-19; and to outline the actions necessary to make permanent any recommended changes. The agencies are directed to complete this work by May 4. To learn more, see the governor’s executive order in the April 24, 2021 edition of the Pennsylvania Bulletin, pages 9 and 10 (pages 2259 and 2260 in the bulletin).
Department of Health
The Department of Health has updated its alert explaining its decision to follow federal guidance and temporarily direct providers to stop administering the Johnson & Johnson Janssen vaccine. Changes are highlighted in yellow.
Department of Health – by the numbers
Department of Human Services
On March 15 the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) raised Medicare payments for administering each dose of COVID-19 vaccines to $40. Now, DHS has decided to raise the Medicaid fee to the same $40, effective March 15. Go here to see the Medical Assistance Bulletin announcing the fee increase.
Around the State