SNAP Rallies PA Delegation to Oppose MFAR
A proposed federal Medicaid regulation could limit Pennsylvania’s ability to finance its Medicaid program and jeopardize supplemental payments to the state’s private safety-net hospitals, so SNAP has asked members of the state’s congressional delegation to sign a letter to CMS Administrator Seema Verma asking her to reconsider the potentially damaging Medicaid fiscal accountability regulation.
In its letter to members of the state’s congressional delegation, SNAP wrote on behalf of private Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals that
The proposed Medicaid fiscal accountability regulation (MFAR) would, if implemented, impose new limits on how states may raise their share of funds to support their Medicaid programs. If adopted, the commonwealth would face a serious challenge raising the money it needs to finance its share of the cost of its Medicaid program. In addition, MFAR would take a great deal of states’ Medicaid policy-making authority away from state governments and give it instead to the federal Department of Health and Human Services.
Two members of the state’s congressional delegation, Representatives Brendan Boyle (D-Montgomery/Philadelphia) and Mike Kelly (R-Butler/Crawford/Erie/Lawrence/Mercer), have written a bipartisan letter to be sent to CMS Administrator Seema Verma asking her to reconsider the troubling aspects of MFAR. SNAP wrote to members of the state’s congressional delegation asking them to sign onto the letter.
Go here to see the full SNAP letter to the delegation.
The proposed budget, presented to the state legislature earlier this week, includes the following new initiatives:
Included in this month’s edition are articles about:
In a news release, Governor Wolf said that
For years, county governments ran their own programs, which provided free non-emergency transportation to doctor offices for Medicaid patients. About 55,000 Pennsylvanians served by Medicaid use this program.
The purpose of the PDL is to save money – an estimated $85 million a year, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.
While DHS’s area of endeavor is broad and goes beyond health care, Medicaid is an important aspect of its work and that importance is reflected in the plan, which includes descriptions of DHS’s ambitions in the following areas: