PA Sets Terms of New Telemedicine Expansion

The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) has announced that it is expanding its use of telemedicine to serve the state’s Medical Assistance population.  Telemedicine is widely considered an especially useful tool for serving rural patients.
Under the new approach, the program will expand the types of medical specialists who may engage in telemedicine, remove the requirement that referring physicians participate in telemedicine consultations, and establish specific technologies for use in such consultations.
DPWBookshelf with law books has issued a new Medical Assistance Bulletin presenting more information about its new approach.
Medical Assistance Bulletin 09-12-31, 31-12-31, 33-12-30 describes the new program and outlines procedures for engaging in telemedicine consultations.  This bulletin can be found here.  A fee schedule and provider codes can be found here.

2012-05-25T06:00:47+00:00May 25th, 2012|Pennsylvania Medicaid laws and regulations, Pennsylvania Medicaid policy|Comments Off on PA Sets Terms of New Telemedicine Expansion

Medical Malpractices Cases, Verdicts Down in PA

Ten years after the state Supreme Court instituted changes in how and where medical malpractice cases could be filed, the number of cases filed and the number of verdicts issued has declined.
Currently, cases must be certified as having potential merit before they are filed.  Also, plaintiffs must file in the county where the alleged malpractice occurred.  Previously, those with weaker cases often filed in counties where juries are considered more lenient.
Read more about how and why in this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette articleBookshelf with law books.

2012-05-21T09:07:34+00:00May 21st, 2012|Pennsylvania Medicaid laws and regulations|Comments Off on Medical Malpractices Cases, Verdicts Down in PA

Newborn Pay Cut

Pennsylvania’s Medical Assistance program will no longer pay hospitals for care they provide to normal newborns delivered by patients who participate in the state’s fee-for-service program.
This policy change, which took effect on May 1, will have a greater impact on Pennsylvania’s safety-net hospitals than on other hospitals because safety-net hospitals are involved in far more Medicaid-covered deliveries than other hospitals – two-thirds of such births according to the recent SNAP report Pennsylvania’s Safety-Net Hospitals:  Vital Providers, Vital Employers, which you can find here.
The policy change governing how Medicaid will pay hospitals for the care they provide to normal newborns is described in greater detail in a May 4 Medical Assistance Bulletin, which you can read hereBookshelf with law books.

2012-05-07T06:00:56+00:00May 7th, 2012|Pennsylvania Medicaid laws and regulations, Pennsylvania Medicaid policy|Comments Off on Newborn Pay Cut
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