Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania Archives - Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania

SNAP Hospitals Benefit From New PA Health Care Funding

While a recent Pennsylvania law will result in all hospitals receiving supplemental funding to help with employee recruitment and retention, SNAP member hospitals will receive a little something extra.

Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania logo Pennsylvania Act 2, passed earlier this year, appropriates $225 million in federal money and the state has earmarked a portion of that money for hospitals based on how many beds they have. Hospitals that serve especially high proportions of Medicaid patients, however, will receive funding over and above the amount targeted to them based on bed count alone.

All Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania members – hospitals distinguished by their service to especially large numbers of low-income Pennsylvanians – will receive a portion of these additional resources.

All hospitals and other selected providers will share $100 million of the $225 million total; this portion will be distributed on a per-bed basis. Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals, along with critical access hospitals and inpatient and residential behavioral health facilities, also will receive part of a separate, larger pool of $110 million.

Over the years, SNAP has consistently urged state officials to provide additional funding to Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals that care for especially high proportions of Medicaid and uninsured patients. In this situation, state officials did exactly that.

Learn more about the $225 million appropriation and how it will be distributed from this Wolf administration news release and this list of funding recipients, which includes all SNAP members.

jsteinbock2022-03-25T13:10:50+00:00March 25th, 2022|Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals, Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania|Comments Off

SNAP Asks PA Delegation to Co-Sponsor, Support 340B Bill

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 Pennsylvania 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.

Because of the manner in which the COVID-19 pandemic affected hospital admissions, some hospitals that have been eligible to participate in the 340B program could lose that eligibility for what is, in effect, a one-year anomaly. The proposed bills would temporarily enable current 340B participants to retain their eligibility for the program until hospitals’ inpatient volume returns to normal and they can demonstrate whether they still meet the criteria to continue participating in the program.

340B has long been a vital tool through which Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals receive significant discounts on the prescription drugs their low-income patients need, enabling these hospitals and other eligible providers to stretch scarce resources in services to the communities that depend on them.

jsteinbock2021-06-15T17:52:15+00:00June 15th, 2021|340b, Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals, Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania|Comments Off

Change Atop PA’s Department of Human Services

Teresa Miller is out and Meg Snead will be in as Pennsylvania’s new Secretary of the Department of Human Services.

In separate news releases the Wolf administration announced that Miller, who has led DHS since 2015, “will be moving on to a new opportunity outside Pennsylvania” and leave her job at the end of April and that she will be replaced by Meg Snead, who currently serves as the governor’s Secretary of Policy and Planning.

Snead’s nomination is subject to confirmation by the state Senate.

The Secretary of the Department of Human Services is important to SNAP members and Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals because the state’s Medicaid program is administered by that department’s Office of Medical Assistance Programs.

Learn more about Miller’s departure here and about Snead’s nomination here.

PA Safety Net Admin2021-03-25T06:00:37+00:00March 25th, 2021|Pennsylvania Medicaid, Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals, Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania|Comments Off

House to Consider Extending Medicare Sequester Delay

The moratorium on the two percent sequestration of Medicare payments could be extended under a bill the U.S. House of Representatives may consider this week.

If adopted, the bill would extend the sequester delay for nine months, providing financial relief that many health care providers seek as they continue to deal with the financial challenges posed by COVID-19.

The sequester delay was implemented early in the pandemic as a means of providing additional Medicare revenue to hospitals and other health care providers at a time when many people were delaying seeking medical attention out of fear of contracting COVID-19.

Without action by Congress, the current delay of the Medicare sequester will expire at the end of March.

Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania logo SNAP has urged Congress to extend the Medicare sequestration delay on a number of occasions, doing so most recently in this February 5 letter to members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation.

Learn more about the latest effort to extend the Medicare sequester delay in the Fierce Healthcare article “House to vote later this week on bill to delay Medicare sequestration payment cuts.”

PA Safety Net Admin2021-03-18T06:00:32+00:00March 18th, 2021|Medicare, Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania|Comments Off

COVID-19 Update: Friday, December 4

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the state and federal governments as of 2:45 p.m. on Friday, December 4.

SNAP Advocacy

Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania logo SNAP has written to Congress to request additional COVID-19 legislation between now and the end of the year. SNAP asked Congress for additional funding for the Provider Relief Fund; extension of the temporary moratorium on continued implementation of the 2011 Budget Control Act’s Medicare sequestration; and the suspension of any other federal cuts for health care providers, such as the scheduled reduction of Medicaid disproportionate share (Medicaid DSH) allocations to the states. Read SNAP’s message to Congress.

Pennsylvania Update

Department of Health

The Department of Health has posted a fact sheet on the CDC’s arrangement with pharmacies to provide on-site COVID-19 vaccination services for residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities once vaccination is recommended for them.
The Department of Health has compiled answers to frequently asked questions about the Secretary’s order for the reduction of elective procedures in regions that meet certain COVID-19-related metrics. The department also updated its COVID-19 guidance to hospitals to incorporate changes made by the elective procedures order.
The Department of Health shared clarification it received from CMS explaining that personnel providing non-emergency medical transportation under arrangements with nursing facilities should be tested for COVID-19 or required to prove that testing was completed elsewhere during the time frame that corresponds with the facility’s testing frequency. This requirement does not apply to individuals providing emergency services.
The Department of Health issued a health alert with updated quarantine recommendations for persons in the community exposed to COVID-19. This alert does not apply to staff working in health care settings who are exposed to COVID-19, who should follow guidance outlined in PA-HAN-510, or to patients and residents in health care settings, who should follow PA-HAN-526.
The Department of Health shared on its message board the following information to clarify that surveyors visiting licensed facilities are required to follow the department’s own testing and visitation protocols:

The Department of Health recognizes the need to protect the patients and residents in healthcare facilities by ensuring that visitors (including Department of Health employees) follow guidance and requirements issued by the Department of Health and CMS regarding visitation to healthcare facilities. Surveyors from the Department of Health are required to follow these requirements and guidance. The Department of Health also has its own testing program for our surveyors. Because of HIPPA we cannot share medical results of our employees, but again we can assure you that all employees who are on site at facilities are compliant with all Department of Health and CMS guidance and requirements.

Department of Health – by the numbers

For the second consecutive day, Pennsylvania set a new high for new COVID-19 cases in a single day.
More than 11,000 Pennsylvanians have now died from COVID-19. Daily death figures are now the highest they have been since the pandemic began.
Nearly 38,000 residents of long-term-care facilities and more than 7100 people who work in those facilities have contracted COVID-19. Those figures encompass 1316 facilities in 65 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.
More than 15,000 health care workers in the state have contracted COVID-19.
More than 1000 Pennsylvanians are currently in hospital intensive care units being treated for COVID-19.
Nearly 600 Pennsylvanians are currently breathing with the help of a ventilator because they have COVID-19.
16 percent of hospital adult ICU beds are currently unoccupied, as are 15 percent of medical/surgical beds, 40 percent of pediatric beds, 17 percent of pediatric ICU beds, and 34 percent of airborne isolation unit beds.

Around the State

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that “More than one-third of hospitals in Southwestern Pennsylvania anticipate staffing shortages in the coming week.”
It also notes that “In Allegheny County, just over 11% of adult ICU beds in the county remain available – about 91 beds in total.”
ICU beds are a major concern, the Tribune-Review adds, explaining that “Intensive care units already are at capacity in two Western Pennsylvania hospitals. Officials with Butler Health System said in a release Wednesday units at Butler Memorial and Clarion hospitals are full, and the health system has activated phase one of its surge plan.”
That plan “…includes converting Butler Memorial’s post-anesthesia care unit into an intensive care unit, which will add 15 more critical care beds in the hospital.”
In addition, the Tribune-Review adds, “The health system will suspend all nonemergency elective surgeries and procedures that would require an in-patient stay, a move officials hope will free up as many beds as possible.”
In addition, the Pittsburgh Business Times reports that the state’s Keystone region also is expected to see staffing shortages in the coming week. That region consists of Adams, Bedford, Blair, Centre, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry, Snyder, and York counties.
The Harrisburg Patriot-News explains that “WellSpan York Hospital has put up a tent outside its emergency room and plans to add trailers. A spokesman said the space is for isolating ER patients awaiting results of COVID-19 tests. It’s not being used to house hospitalized patients, nor is the ER housing hospitalized patients.”
The Philadelphia Business Journal notes that on Wednesday, Philadelphia’s Health Department “…reported 859 patients with Covid are now being treated in city hospitals, nearing the 1,000 Covid admissions level Philadelphia medical centers experienced during the spring.”
Finally, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that “The counties whose hospital ICUs were completely filled with coronavirus patients, according to state data, included Lycoming, Schuylkill, and Washington. Most have small capacities, with some having fewer than five or 10 ICU beds in total, according to state data.”

Department of Human Services

DHS’s Office of Developmental Programs has posted guidance to community and life-sharing home providers about how to apply updated COVID-19 testing guidance and infection control procedure guidance issued by the state’s Department of Health.

Federal Update

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

CMS has updated its FAQs on Medicare fee-for-service billing with 14 new questions that address administration and billing for monoclonal antibody therapy. The new questions can be found on pages 33-34, p. 34, pp. 120-121, p. 121, pp. 121-124, pp. 124-125, p. 125 (four questions), p. 126, pp. 126-127, p. 127, and pp. 127-128.
CMS covers much the same ground in an updated version of its document “Medicare Monoclonal Antibody COVID-19 Infusion Program Instruction.”
CMS has published a statement on its intended use of its enforcement discretion on skilled nursing facility consolidated billing for COVID-19 vaccines and monoclonal antibody infusions. Through the exercise of this discretion, CMS will permit Medicare-enrolled immunizers to bill directly and receive direct reimbursement from the Medicare program. Go here to see the complete statement.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Stakeholder Calls

CMS hosts recurring stakeholder engagement sessions to share information about the agency’s response to COVID-19. These sessions are open to members of the health care community and are intended to provide updates, share best practices among peers, and offer participants an opportunity to ask questions of CMS and other subject matter experts.

COVID-19 Office Hours Call

Tuesday, December 8 at 5:00 (eastern)

Toll Free Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 3129517

Audio Webcast link: go here.

Tuesday, December 22 at 5:00 (eastern)

Toll Free Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 3968359

Audio Webcast link: go here.

Conference lines are limited so CMS encourages interested parties to join via audio webcast.

To listen to the audio files and read the transcripts for past stakeholder calls, go here.

Department of Health and Human Services

HHS has issued a fourth amendment to the Declaration under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) to increase access to critical countermeasures against COVID-19, including greater use of telehealth. Go here for a more detailed description of what the amendment authorizes.

Food and Drug Administration

On Tuesday, December 8 at noon (eastern) the FDA will host a webinar on its enforcement policy for sterilizers, disinfectant devices, and air purifiers during the COVID-19 pandemic as part of its series on respirators and other personal protective equipment for health care personnel use during the pandemic. Go here for further information about the webinar and how to participate.
The FDA has issued emergency use authorization for a bioburden-reduced N95 respirator. See the FDA’s letter of authorization and its fact sheet for health care providers.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The CDC has updated its guidance on COVID-19 point-of-care testing.
The CDC has updated its information for laboratories that perform COVID-19 tests.
The CDC has updated its information about therapeutic options for treating COVID-19.
The CDC has updated its guidance on how and when to discontinue isolation of home-bound patients who have COVID-19.
The CDC has updated its data on pregnant women who contract COVID-19.

Resources to Consult

Pennsylvania Department of Human Services

Main COVID-19 Page

COVID-19 Provider Resources

Press Releases

Pennsylvania Department of Health

Main COVID-19 Page

PA Health Alert Network

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Main COVID-19 Page

FAQ

PA Safety Net Admin2020-12-07T09:59:52+00:00December 7th, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania|Comments Off

SNAP Seeks Help From End-of-Year Federal Legislation

Eliminate Medicaid disproportionate share hospital cuts (Medicaid DSH), appropriate additional resources for the Provider Relief Fund, and extend the current suspension of the two percent sequestration of Medicare spending, the Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania asked members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation in a letter SNAP sent earlier this week.

The request comes as Congress returns to Washington to take up the funding of the federal government at a time when authorization for spending under a continuing resolution ends on December 11. In addition to addressing federal funding, Congress also may consider COVID-19 legislation.

PA Safety Net Admin2020-11-19T06:00:26+00:00November 19th, 2020|COVID-19, DSH hospitals, Federal Medicaid issues, Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania|Comments Off

SNAP Asks PA Congressional Delegation to Help Preserve Federal COVID-19 Aid for Hospitals

Protect the COVID-19 aid the federal government has given to Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals and others, SNAP has asked in a letter to members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation.

Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania logo The letter refers to changes in how the federal Department of Health and Human Services wants hospitals to calculate the revenue they lost as a result of COVID-19 – the justification in part for the Provider Relief Fund payments hospitals have received through the CARES Act. In June, HHS told hospitals how to make that calculation but late last month it changed those directions in ways that could force many Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals to return some or even much of the federal aid they received.

In the letter, SNAP asks members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation to join a bipartisan letter asking HHS Secretary Alex Azar to restore the June instructions for calculating COVID-19-related lost hospital revenue.

Go here to read SNAP’s message to Congress.

PA Safety Net Admin2020-10-14T11:43:19+00:00October 14th, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals, Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania|Comments Off

MFAR is Dead

At least for now.

The controversial Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Regulation, slated for implementation this fall over the objections of many health care stakeholders, will not move forward at this time.

In a tweet earlier this week, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma wrote that

We’ve listened closely to concerns that have been raised by our state and provider partners about potential unintended consequences of the proposed rule, which require further study. Therefore, CMS is withdrawing the rule from the regulatory agenda.

If implemented, opponents maintained, the regulation would have:

Deprived states of important, established policy-making prerogatives.
Created major new administrative burdens for state governments and hospitals.
Inappropriately regulated financing of the state share of Medicaid spending.
Introduced new, unspecified standards for state Medicaid programs.

While CMS maintained that MFAR would have enhanced the transparency of state Medicaid programs, the rule’s opponents maintained that it could lead to a major reduction of resources for serving the Medicaid population.

SNAP was among those opponents, arguing that the regulation could have hurt Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals and others that serve low-income communities by inappropriately regulating how states can finance their Medicaid programs. CMS proposed the rule last November; SNAP submitted formal comments expressing its opposition in January; and SNAP rallied Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation to oppose the rule in February, March, and July.

It is worth noting that in “withdrawing the rule from the regulatory agenda,” Verma did not preclude the possibility of reintroducing MFAR at some point in the future.

Learn more from article “Trump administration backing off Medicaid rule that states warned would lead to cuts” in the online publication The Hill.

PA Safety Net Admin2020-09-17T06:00:46+00:00September 17th, 2020|Federal Medicaid issues, Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals, Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania|Comments Off

Eliminate Medicaid DSH Cut, SNAP Asks PA Delegation

A Continuing Resolution to fund the federal government in FY 2021 should eliminate a cut in federal Medicaid disproportionate share (Medicaid DSH) allotments to the states, and the Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania has written to the state’s congressional delegation asking its members to convey this message to congressional leaders.

The cut was mandated by the 2010 Affordable Care Act but has never been implemented.

In its letter to the delegation, SNAP wrote that

The Medicaid DSH cut was predicated on the expectation that the Affordable Care Act would greatly reduce the number of uninsured Americans, and while it has, millions remain uninsured, including nearly 700,000 Pennsylvanians – a number thought to be rising because of the job loss associated with COVID-19. When these people are sick or injured, most will turn to the state’s 41 private safety-net hospitals for care. These hospitals depend heavily on their Medicaid DSH payments to underwrite the cost of care for their uninsured patients, so they have never needed the resources afforded by Medicaid DSH more than they do today. Congress has always questioned the wisdom of this cut and has never permitted those cuts to go into effect. The most recent delay expires after November 30..

Because they serve so many uninsured and underinsured patients, Medicaid DSH payments from the state are especially important for Pennsylvania’s safety-net hospitals.

PA Safety Net Admin2020-09-15T06:00:16+00:00September 15th, 2020|Affordable Care Act, Medicaid supplemental payments, Pennsylvania Medicaid, Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals, Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania|Comments Off

SNAP Asks PA Delegation to Help Prevent Attempt to Undermine 340B

Pharmaceutical companies are attempting to prevent safety-net hospitals and others from receiving the full benefits of the section 340B prescription drug discount program and the Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania has asked of the state’s congressional delegation to sign a congressional letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar asking to him intervene and stop the pharmaceutical companies.

Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania logo In asking members of the delegation to sign onto the bipartisan letter, SNAP notes that

The 340B program is essential for Pennsylvania’s safety-net hospitals, other qualified Pennsylvania providers, and others like us throughout the country, enabling us to obtain discounts on prescription drugs we dispense on an outpatient basis to qualified, low-income patients. The program greatly enhances the ability of hospitals to serve their low-income patients and does not cost taxpayers a single dime, but in recent weeks several pharmaceutical companies have taken steps to prevent hospitals from receiving the prescription drug discounts that Congress clearly intended when it created the 340B program nearly 30 years ago.

Learn more about the 340B problem and what SNAP and others are asking Secretary Azar to do to help in this SNAP message to members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation.

PA Safety Net Admin2020-09-09T16:05:44+00:00September 9th, 2020|340b, Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals, Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania|Comments Off

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