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

Tobacco Money Loss Imperils Hospital Uncompensated Care Payments

Pennsylvania’s loss of $180 million from the national tobacco master settlement agreement could affect the state’s Tobacco Uncompensated Care program, which provides supplemental funding to hospitals that provide significant amounts of uncompensated care.
The $180 million cut represents 60 percent of the state’s overall tobacco revenue.
According to a news release from the governor’s budget office,

The reduction will occur in the state’s April 2014 MSA [master settlement agreement] payment, which supports spending in the current year’s budget. This is forcing the state to freeze discretionary funding from the MSA, which will reduce funds for health research (Commonwealth Universal Research Enhancement [CURE] grants), Life Sciences Greenhouses, uncompensated care to hospitals, and discretionary funds related to tobacco prevention and cessation programs.

To learn more about the funding loss and its implications, see the news release “Administration Receives Notification on Impacts from Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement Arbitration Panel Decision” from the governor’s budget office.

PA Safety Net Admin2013-10-03T09:22:36+00:00October 3rd, 2013|Pennsylvania Medicaid policy, Pennsylvania state budget issues|Comments Off

Arkansas Medicaid Plan Gains Federal Approval; Harbinger for PA?

A bid by the state of Arkansas to expand access to Medicaid by enabling newly eligible recipients to use federal Medicaid funds to purchase health insurance has been approved by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
While the Arkansas Medicaid proposal is not identical to Governor Corbett’s recently released “Healthy Pennsylvania” plan, the two share a key common component: the use of federal Medicaid funds to enable newly eligible recipients to purchase private insurance through new health insurance exchanges that open for business on October 1.
The path to federal approval for Healthy Pennsylvania remains challenging, but the Arkansas ruling appears to be a clear sign that the federal government is receptive to one of the key components of Governor Corbett’s proposal.
To learn more about the Arkansas Medicaid plan and the federal decision to approve it, see this San Francisco Chronicle article.

PA Safety Net Admin2013-10-01T06:00:02+00:00October 1st, 2013|Affordable Care Act, Health care reform, Healthy PA, Pennsylvania Medicaid policy|Comments Off

The Underlying Rationale For “Healthy Pennsylvania”

Reducing costs.
Sustainability.
Simplification.
These are among the reasons that members of the Corbett administration offer for why the Medicaid expansion components of the governor’s Healthy Pennsylvania proposal are structured as they are.
The online publication PA Independent talked to a number of administration officials about why they have chosen the proposed path to health care reform in the state. Read what they had to say in the article “PA looks to reform Medicaid, stave off cost increases” here, on the PA Independent web site.

PA Safety Net Admin2013-09-30T06:00:47+00:00September 30th, 2013|Affordable Care Act, Healthy PA, Pennsylvania Medicaid policy|Comments Off

CMS Proposes Basic Health Program

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has unveiled a proposal to establish what it is calling a “Basic Health Program” that gives states “the option to establish a health benefits coverage program for low-income individuals who would otherwise be eligible to purchase coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace.”
The program, established in the Affordable Care Act, is designed for people who do not qualify for Medicaid or CHIP and whose incomes are between 133 percent and 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Legal residents who are non-citizens whose incomes are below 133 percent of the federal poverty level also qualify. The federal government is picking up 95 percent of the cost of this program.
A new proposed regulation addresses who is eligible, how enrollment works, enrollee financial responsibilities, the program’s basic benefits, and more.
Such a program could prove beneficial to many low-income residents of communities served by Pennsylvania’s safety-net hospitals.
Read about the new Basic Health Program in this CMS fact sheet, which also includes a link to the entire proposed regulation.

PA Safety Net Admin2013-09-27T06:00:53+00:00September 27th, 2013|Affordable Care Act|Comments Off

First Peek at PA’s Health Insurance Exchange

A new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers a first look at the health insurance choices to be available to residents of 36 states, including Pennsylvania.
According to the report, premiums before subsidies – not yet released publicly – will average about 16 percent lower than Congressional Budget Office projections.
Across the state, Pennsylvanians will average a choice of 56 insurance plans. The selection varies by region, with 42 choices for residents of the Philadelphia area and 36 for those who reside in Pittsburgh.
The health insurance exchanges are one of the main features of the Affordable Care Act.
Rate information for the individual plans will be released next Tuesday, but monthly premiums for Pennsylvanians reportedly will be lower than the average for the 36 states for which information is available.
For more on the selection of plans, see this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article. For information about rates, including a chart that shows examples, see this report in the Central Penn Business Journal.

PA Safety Net Admin2013-09-26T06:00:02+00:00September 26th, 2013|Affordable Care Act|Comments Off

ACA Insurance Subsidies for 900,000 Pennsylvanians?

As many as 900,000 Pennsylvanians could be eligible on October 1 for the insurance premium subsidies that are a major part of the Affordable Care Act, according to the advocacy group Families USA.
Learn more about the subsidies, who qualifies for them, and how they work in this WHYY Newsworks article.

PA Safety Net Admin2013-09-24T06:00:22+00:00September 24th, 2013|Affordable Care Act|Comments Off

CMS Finalizes Medicaid DSH Cuts

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a final Medicaid disproportionate share (Medicaid DSH) regulation that cuts federal spending on Medicaid DSH $500 million in FY 2014 and $600 million in FY 2015.
The Medicaid DSH cuts were mandated by the Affordable Care Act in anticipation of every state expanding its Medicaid program. The reform law’s Medicaid expansion mandate was later made optional by a Supreme Court ruling.
Medicaid DSH cuts will hurt all Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals, and the Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP) has conveyed its opposition to the cuts to CMS and also has asked members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation to support current legislation to delay the implementation of both Medicaid DSH and Medicare DSH cuts for two years.
While the Affordable Care Act calls for Medicaid DSH cuts through 2020, the new regulation covers only two years. CMS has indicated that it will review its reduction methodology for future years.
Read more about the Medicaid DSH cut, why it was made, the objections to it, and future Medicaid DSH cuts in this CQ Healthbeat article presented by the Commonwealth Fund.

PA Safety Net Admin2013-09-20T06:00:29+00:00September 20th, 2013|Affordable Care Act, Pennsylvania Medicaid policy|Comments Off

Medicaid Patients Get Comparable Face Time With Primary Care Docs

Primary care physicians do not spend less time with their Medicaid patients, a new study has concluded.
While Medicaid patients may face greater challenges finding primary care physicians who will serve them, once they find one, those doctors will spend no less time with them than they do with their commercially insured patients. Medicaid patients also receive more diagnostic and treatment services than their commercial counterparts as well as no less attention to preventive care.
Learn more about the findings of George Washington University researchers in the article “No Evidence That Primary Care Physicians Offer Less Care to Medicaid, Community Health Center, or Uninsured Patients” here, on the web site of the journal Health Affairs.

PA Safety Net Admin2013-09-19T06:00:53+00:00September 19th, 2013|Uncategorized|Comments Off

More Than Better Pay Needed to Lure Docs to Medicaid

Primary care physicians want more than better reimbursement as an inducement to serve more Medicaid patients.
They also want simpler administrative procedures, faster payment, and lower costs associated with treating those patients.
These findings come from a survey of primary care physicians in Washington state.
Recruiting more primary care physicians to serve Medicaid patients is more important than ever because many states will be taking advantage of Affordable Care Act incentives to expand eligibility for their Medicaid programs.
The survey results and more can be found in the article “Physicians May Need More Than Higher Reimbursements to Expand Medicaid Participation: Findings From Washington State,” which was published in the September 2013 edition of the journal Health Affairs. Find that article here.

PA Safety Net Admin2013-09-18T06:00:34+00:00September 18th, 2013|Affordable Care Act, Pennsylvania Medicaid policy|Comments Off

Corbett Presents Health Care, Medicaid Proposal

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett has unveiled a new “Healthy PA” proposal that includes the means through which the state would extend Medicaid coverage to approximately 520,000 additional people.
The new Medicaid recipients, instead of enrolling in the state’s traditional Medicaid program, would purchase their health insurance through the state’s health insurance exchange, a creation of the Affordable Care Act.
Funding for the new recipients would come almost entirely from the federal government, also through the Affordable Care Act.
Pennsylvania has long been one of the states that has resisted expanding its Medicaid population – a decision made optional by the Supreme Court after a challenge to the 2010 reform law’s constitutionality.
Read a summary of the Healthy PA plan, and find a link to the plan itself here, on the state’s own web site.