Medicaid and CHIP Enrollment Rising in Pandemic
Medicaid enrollment rose 6.2 percent and CHIP enrollment 0.5 percent during the first four months of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports.
The enrollment increase can be traced to rising unemployment, with many people losing their employer-sponsored health insurance. The new figures cover five months, from February through June, the latter four of which marked the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals already serve significant numbers of Medicaid and CHIP patients; an increase in their rolls will prove financially challenging to them.
The information comes from CMS’s first monthly “Medicaid and CHIP Enrollment Trends Snapshot.” Go here for CMS’s news release explaining its new initiative and here to see the trends snapshot itself, which includes figures for Pennsylvania.
The Department of State has 
This week’s 
Provider Relief Fund
CMS has posted the document “
The CDC has updated its 
Governor Wolf on Friday announced the reopening of 24 Pennsylvania counties in the northwestern and north-central parts of the state, moving them from red to yellow in his three-color plan for reopening the state. The governor outlined the criteria used to reach these decisions and the provisions for contact tracing and additional testing that make reopening possible. The reopening calls for reduced use but not elimination of social distancing and includes guidance on work, congregate, and social activities that are now permitted as well as those that remain restricted or prohibited. On Monday the administration will release guidance for businesses permitted to reopen in the selected counties.
Yesterday CMS released a second interim final rule with comment period announcing a new round of regulatory waivers and rule changes to provide additional flexibility to the health care system as the COVID-19 crisis continues and the country begins to reopen.
MACPAC has written to CMS administrator Seema Verma to express its concern that 
Department of State
CMS has posted a 
The DEA has published a letter that grants to the satellite hospitals and clinics of DEA-registered hospitals, under certain conditions, the 
Governor Wolf/Financial Assistance for Hospitals
Department of Human Services
The FDA has issued guidance on best 
Governor Wolf recommended that all Pennsylvanians wear masks outside the home. He elaborates on this recommendation in a 
The CDC has issued new 
HHS’s Office of Civil Rights has announced that it will not impose penalties for violations of certain provisions of the HIPAA privacy rule against health care providers or their business associates for the good faith uses and disclosures of protected health information by business associates for public health and health oversight activities during the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency. See the Office of Civil Rights 
The number of new COVID-19 cases yesterday rose 26 percent over the previous day.
Pennsylvania tax revenues were $294.6 million short of official estimates in March, or 6.2 percent, according 
The Central Penn Business Journal has published an interview with Pennsylvania Department of Health Secretary Rachel Levine, who is leading the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read that interview 
Under the declaration of a national state of emergency, the Department of Health and Human Services is authorized to waive or modify Medicare and Medicaid regulations; these are known as section 1135 waivers. In this case, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued a section 1135 waiver to Pennsylvania for its Medicaid program to: