Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania Archives - Page 8 of 9 - Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania

Hearing Promotes Medicaid Expansion in PA

Democratic members of the state Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing in Philadelphia to promote expansion of the state’s Medicaid (Medical Assistance) program.
Participating legislators took testimony from representatives of a number of organizations that support Medicaid expansion, which is an optional component of the Affordable Care Act.
The Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP) supports Medicaid expansion in the state.
Governor Corbett has not yet announced his decision on Medicaid expansion but is thought to be leaning against it. The General Assembly members who held the hearing are in the minority party in the state senate.
Read more about the hearing, the issues, and the testimony offered in this Philadelphia Inquirer article.

PA Safety Net Admin2013-01-25T12:06:55+00:00January 25th, 2013|Health care reform, Pennsylvania Medicaid policy, Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania|Comments Off

PA Paves Way for Primary Care Pay Raise

The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare has published a notice that it will increase the fees Medical Assistance pays for selected primary care services.
The pay raise, funded 100 percent by the federal government, is part of the Affordable Care Act.
For further information about the pay raise, which physicians qualify for it, and how they can receive the pay raise, see the notice here, in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
In addition, members of the Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP) have received a detailed memo outlining the terms of the Medicaid primary care pay raise. Members who have not seen the memo and others who would like a copy can request it at info@paysafetynet.org.

PA Safety Net Admin2013-01-07T06:00:48+00:00January 7th, 2013|Health care reform, Pennsylvania Bulletin, Pennsylvania Medicaid policy, Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania|Comments Off

SNAP Seeks Provider Fee Help from PA Congressional Delegation

In a message to members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation, the Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP) has asked elected officials in Washington, D.C. to protect the state’s ability to levy assessments on providers to help fund the commonwealth’s Medicaid program. The proceeds from the state’s current provider assessments, SNAP notes, have made a major difference in ensuring the ability of Pennsylvania’s safety-net hospitals to continue serving their many Medicaid patients.
Read SNAP’s message to the Pennsylvania congressional delegation here Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania logo .

PA Safety Net Admin2012-12-26T15:00:08+00:00December 26th, 2012|Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania|Comments Off

PA Welfare Secretary Testifies About Medicaid Expansion

Declaring that “We in the commonwealth have never witnessed a law so vast, with such demands on state resources, and lack of federal guidance,” Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare Secretary Gary Alexander told the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week that while Pennsylvania has not ruled out expanding its Medicaid program in accordance with the Affordable Care Act, “Under the constraints of the health care reform law, I do not think we can afford the expansion.”
Mr. Alexander made these remarks at a hearing of the committee’s Health Subcommittee, which was taking testimony on the Medicaid expansion component of the 2010 health care reform law.
While the Kaiser Foundation on Medicaid and the Uninsured says that expansion would cost Pennsylvania $2 billion through 2022, the Corbett administration has put a $4 billion price tag on such expansion.
The Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP) supports Medicaid expansion in the state.
Read more about Mr. Alexander’s testimony in this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article and this Central Penn Business Journal article, which also includes a direct link to the secretary’s testimony.

PA Safety Net Admin2012-12-18T06:00:03+00:00December 18th, 2012|Health care reform, Pennsylvania Medicaid policy, Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania|Comments Off

HHS Nixes Partial Medicaid Expansion

States must opt into the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion or opt out, the federal government has informed the nation’s governors. They may not implement a partial expansion.
That was the message conveyed to governors by Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Services (HHS).
The Medicaid expansion, made mandatory in the 2010 health care reform law, has been the subject of much debate since the Supreme Court ruled the mandate unconstitutional in June and instead left the decision on whether to expand to the individual states. Some governors have already declared that their states will expand their Medicaid programs, some have announced that they will not, and many still have not decided.
Pennsylvania is among the states that have not yet announced whether they will expand their Medicaid programs, although Governor Tom Corbett has signaled that he is reluctant to incur the additional costs that expansion would involve. The Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP) supports Medicaid expansion.
Read more about this latest decision from HHS in this Washington Post article and read an FAQ that HHS sent to governors regarding both Medicaid expansion and the operation of health insurance exchanges here.

PA Safety Net Admin2012-12-11T11:19:30+00:00December 11th, 2012|Health care reform, Pennsylvania Medicaid policy, Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania|Comments Off

Pennsylvania and OB DSH Payments

As part of a three-part series titled “Labor Pains,” the Philadelphia Business Journal has documented the OB/NICU disproportionate share (DSH) payments that Philadelphia-area hospitals have received from Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program since 2007. Many of the recipients are safety-net hospitals, including a number of members of the Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP).
Read about the payments and why they were created and gain access to other parts of the “Labor Pains” series via this Philadelphia Business Journal article .

PA Safety Net Admin2012-11-26T06:00:18+00:00November 26th, 2012|Medicaid supplemental payments, Pennsylvania Medicaid policy, Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania|Comments Off

Safety-Net Hospitals Lead in Births

Ten of the 21 busiest maternity units in southeastern Pennsylvania in 2011 were in safety-net hospitals.
And three of those top five are members of the Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP): Pennsylvania Hospital (#2), the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (#3), and the Albert Einstein Medical Center (#5).
Other SNAP members in the top 21 are Hahnemann University Hospital (#11) and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (#12).
SNAP views offering maternity services as one of the core functions of safety-net hospitals. Most safety-net hospitals offer this service.
To learn more about which hospitals are delivering babies in what numbers in southeastern Pennsylvania, read this Philadelphia Business Journal article .

PA Safety Net Admin2012-11-21T06:00:11+00:00November 21st, 2012|Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania|Comments Off

“Medicaid Works,” Foundation Declares

Medicaid improves access to care and saves lives and deserves to be expanded in the manner envisioned in the Affordable Care Act, according to a new blog entry on the web site of the health care-focused Commonwealth Fund.
According to the blog commentary, Medicaid “fulfills the two main purposes of health insurance – ensuring access to needed care and providing adequate financial protection from burdensome medical expenses.” It also cites research that “confirms that expanding Medicaid not only improves access to care and financial protection of vulnerable individuals and families, but actually saves lives.”
In addition, the blog suggests that Medicaid recipients have only slightly greater cost-related access-to-care problems than individuals with private insurance.
The Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP) and the state’s private safety-net hospitals have eagerly anticipated the expansion of Medicaid eligibility mandated by the Affordable Care Act. In the wake of the Supreme Court decision ruling the expansion mandate unconstitutional, these safety-net hospitals now await for Governor Corbett’s decision on whether Pennsylvania will move ahead with that Medicaid expansion.
The title of this commentary is “Medicaid Works: Public Program Continues to Provide Access to Care and Financial Protection for Society’s Most Vulnerable,” and it can be found here , on the Commonwealth Fund’s web site.

PA Safety Net Admin2012-08-29T06:00:13+00:00August 29th, 2012|Health care reform, Pennsylvania Medicaid laws and regulations, Pennsylvania Medicaid policy, Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania, Uncategorized|Comments Off

New Medicare Readmissions Policy to Hit Safety-Net Hospitals Hardest

A new Medicare reimbursement policy that will penalize hospitals financially for readmitting patients within 30 days of discharge will have a disproportionate impact on hospitals that care for large numbers of low-income patients.
According to an analysis by Kaiser Health News, hospitals that treat significant numbers of low-income patients – those eligible for Medicare disproportionate share (DSH) payments – are more likely to be penalized by Medicare than other hospitals. Those that serve the most poor patients are twice as likely to suffer the maximum Medicare penalty as those that care for the fewest low-income patients.
The penalties apply to patients readmitted after suffering pneumonia, heart attacks, and heart failure.
The new Medicare readmissions reduction program poses a particular challenge for Pennsylvania’s safety-net hospitals, such as those that belong to the Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP), because so many of their patients have additional medical problems and often have difficulties following post-discharge instructions and getting and paying for follow-up care.
Read more about the new Medicare reimbursement program and the Kaiser analysis in this Kaiser Health News report Hospital building .

PA Safety Net Admin2012-08-24T06:00:45+00:00August 24th, 2012|Health care reform, Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania|Comments Off

Failure to Expand Medicaid Could Hurt PA Hospitals

A decision by Pennsylvania state officials not to expand the state’s Medicaid program as envisioned in the Affordable Care Act would be harmful to the state’s private hospitals – and especially to its safety-net hospitals, according to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report.
The law previously required all states to expand their Medicaid programs, but that mandate was struck down last month by the Supreme Court.
The court’s decision has serious implications, Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP) president Michael Chirieleison explained in the article.
“When you remove a critical part of the act like this, it leads to a lot of questions and concerns about the viability and credibility of the remaining initiatives.”
State officials have not yet indicated whether Pennsylvania will expand its Medicaid program.
Read the Post-Gazette article here .