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PA Health Policy Update for February 28

The following is an update of selected state health policy developments in Pennsylvania from February 24 – 28.  (Some of the language used below is taken directly from state documents). 

Governor Shapiro 

Governor Shapiro has announced that all $2.1 billion in Congressionally-appropriated federal funding identified in the administration’s lawsuit against the federal government has been unfrozen. 

General Assembly

  • The state House of Representatives and Senate continued their hearings on Governor Shapiro’s FY 2025-26 budget proposal this week. The following are the health-related agency budget hearings that occurred this week.
  • The Department of Aging appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, February 25. A recording of that hearing is viewable here.
  • The Department of Aging also appeared before the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday, February 27. A recording of that hearing is viewable here.  
  • The House of Representatives and Senate will continue budget hearings next week. The Department of Human Services will appear before the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, March 4 and the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, March 5. The House Appropriations Committee’s full hearing schedule is viewable here and the Senate Appropriations Committee’s full hearing schedule is viewable here. 
  • The House Health Committee has scheduled an informational meeting next week on Monday, March 3 at 1:00 p.m. to explore the practice of community health workers. The meeting will be held in Room 60 of East Wing.
  • The House Human Services Committee has also scheduled a meeting for next week on Wednesday, March 5 at 10:00 a.m. in Room G-50 of the Irvis Building to consider the following bills.  
  • House Bill 269, which requires the Department of Health, in consultation with the Department of Drug & Alcohol Programs, to develop opioid overdose public education materials. 
  • House Bill 640, which updates the annual reporting requirements for the Department of Drug & Alcohol Protections.
  • House Bill 749, which requires the Department of Human Services to conduct a study of Pennsylvania’s SNAP payment distribution. 

Department of Human Services 

  • The Department of Human Services (DHS) has published a notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin announcing its intent to allocate funds in FY 2024-25 for a new supplemental payment to qualifying rural hospitals in a county of the fourth, fifth, six, seventh, or eighth class. The total amount of funding available (state and federal) is $36.7 million. Find additional details in the bulletin notice.
  • DHS has published a Provider Quick Tip (176) to inform presumptive eligibility providers that the income guidelines used to determine presumptive eligibility for pregnant women have been updated effective January 1, 2025.
  • DHS has also issued an updated Provider Quick Tip (121) to remind all enrolled provider types who dispense hearing aid supplies to Medical Assistance (MA) beneficiaries to submit a copy of their renewed Department of Health certification to MA Provider Enrollment by March 16, 2025. 

Department of Health 

The Department of Health (DOH) has announced the 2024-25 MCARE surcharge letters and invoices will be emailed to nursing home administrators on or about March 3. Included in each email attachment will be a statement with the amount due to DOH by June 1, 2025. 

Around the State  

  • The Philadelphia Inquirer has published an article detailing the $20 million Crozer Health’s independent receiver, FTI Consulting, is receiving.
  • WESA in Pittsburgh has written an article about Medicaid cuts being considered in Congress and their potential impact on Pennsylvania. CBS News similarly covered this story.
  • Private equity’s role in the Pennsylvania and Philadelphia health care markets are the focus of an article published by WHYY. 

Stakeholder Meetings

DHS – LTSS Subcommittee – March 7

The Department of Human Services (DHS) Medicaid Long-Term Services and Supports Subcommittee will hold a public meeting on Thursday, March 7 at 10:00 a.m. The meeting is being held virtually. Find additional information and details on how to participate here.

2025-02-28T21:58:30+00:00February 28th, 2025|Financial, Governments, Meetings and notices|Comments Off on PA Health Policy Update for February 28
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PA Health Policy Update for February 7

The following is an update of selected state health policy developments in Pennsylvania February 3 – 7.  (Some of the language used below is taken directly from state documents). 

Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget Proposal 

Governor Shapiro delivered his third annual budget address before the General Assembly this week. In total, the proposed FY 2025-26 budget spends $51.5 billion, a $3.6 billion or 7.5 percent increase over the current fiscal year. The governor’s speech included a mixture of accomplishments from his administration’s first two years in office and aspirational policy goals focused on economic competitiveness, education and workforce development, energy infrastructure, public safety, and health care access and affordability. The budget does not propose any broad-based tax increases, but it does rely on a significant amount of fund transfers and new revenue sources, including the elimination of the Delaware tax loophole, the legalization of recreational marijuana, and the taxing of skill games.

The following are budget-related documents released by the budget office, including a proposed line item appropriation spreadsheet.

Governor Shapiro 

Governor Shapiro signed Senate Bill 184, now known as Act 2 of 2025, into law this week following its passage in the Senate. Act 2 enables team physicians traveling internationally with their club or national team to treat their team players on site during games without requiring a Pennsylvania medical license. 

General Assembly

The state House of Representatives and Senate convened for voting session in Harrisburg this week. The following is an overview of selected health care-related legislative activity that occurred.  

  • The House Aging & Older Adult Services Committee held an informational meeting on Monday, February 3 on the Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs). A recording of the hearing is viewable here. 
  • The Human Services Committee held an informational hearing on Wednesday, February 5 on treatment and support for traumatic brain injuries. A recording of the hearing is viewable here.   
  • The House Health Committee met on Wednesday, February 5, a recording of which is viewable here, and favorably reported the following bills from committee.
    • House Bill 60, which aligns Pennsylvania with federal policies to permit the electronic transfer of certain prescribed controlled substances between pharmacies.
    • House Bill 157, which establishes a rural health care grant program to provide financial incentives to health care providers to practice in rural areas.
    • House Bill 409, which requires health care providers to inform patients that they will be receiving their test results in their electronic health record, or that they can request to receive the results in the mail. 

Department of Health 

The Department of Health (DOH) has updated its Event Reporting System (ERS) with new flu and RSV reporting enhancements to streamline the reporting of both event types. This is similar to the enhancements made during COVID-19 in March 2021. As a reminder, all flu and RSV events are to be reported to ERS within 24 hours of the facility becoming aware of the diagnosis. Find additional information on the enhancement in this Quick Start Guide (opens as a Word document). 

Insurance Department 

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department (PID) has announced it is conducting a medical professional liability insurance study to determine whether sufficient capacity exists to increase the basic coverage limits of insurance required by the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error (MCARE) Act. Find additional information and details on how to provide written comments to PID in this Pennsylvania Bulletin notice. 

Revenue Collection Update 

The Department of Revenue has announced Pennsylvania collected $3.9 billion in General Fund revenue in January, which was $51.3 million, or 1.3 percent, less than anticipated. Fiscal year-to-date General Fund collections total $24.1 billion, which is $148.3 million, or 0.6 percent, below estimate. 

Around the State  

  • The Philadelphia Inquirer has written an article about the bankruptcy proceedings of Crozer Health’s parent company, Prospect Medical Holding, and the judge’s recent approval of the appointment of a temporary manager, FTI Consulting, for 30 days. 
  • An article published by the Pennsylvania Capital-Star highlighted Governor Shapiro’s FY 2025-26 budget proposal and the response by Republican leaders in the General Assembly. 
  • The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote an article about comments made by Governor’s Shapiro in his budget address about the need to remove private equity money from health care and implement a more stringent regulatory review process.
  • WHYY published an article about the health care issues receiving attention at the start of the 2025-2026 legislative session and in Governor Shapiro’s budget address.  

Stakeholder Meetings

Patient Safety Authority – February 18

The Patient Safety Authority will hold a meeting of the Authority’s board on Tuesday, February 18 at 1:00 p.m. The meeting will be held virtually and is open to the public. Find additional details and information on how to participate in this Pennsylvania Bulletin notice.

2025-02-07T21:45:49+00:00February 7th, 2025|Meetings and notices, Pennsylvania Bulletin, Pennsylvania Medicaid, Pennsylvania proposed FY 2026 budget|Comments Off on PA Health Policy Update for February 7
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PA Health Policy Update for January 24

The following is an update of selected state health policy developments in Pennsylvania January 20 – 24.  (Some of the language used below is taken directly from state documents). 

Pennsylvania Row Offices 

Pennsylvania’s three row officers – Attorney General Dave Sunday, Auditory General Tim DeFoor, and Treasurer Stacy Garrity – were sworn into office on Tuesday, January 21. This marks the first time all three row offices are held by Republicans. 

General Assembly

Following the unfortunate passing of Rep. Matt Gergely (D-Allegheny), Speaker McClinton has scheduled a special election for the 35th Legislative District to occur on Tuesday, March 25.

The state House of Representatives and Senate are scheduled to return to session on Monday, January 27, 2025. The following is a selection of health care-related legislative activity currently scheduled for next week. 

  • The Senate Health & Human Services Committee is scheduled to meet “off the floor” on Monday, January 27 to consider Senate Bills 155, 156, and 157, which are part of a package of bills aimed at eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in public assistance programs.
  • The House Aging & Older Adult Services Committee will convene on Tuesday, January 28 at 9:30 a.m. for an informational meeting on direct care workers and the homecare industry. The meeting will be held in Room G-50 of the Irvis Office Building.
  • The House Insurance Committee is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, January 28 “at the call of the chair” to consider, among other bills, House Bill 111, which prohibits insurers from denying coverage to individuals solely because they have an opioid reversal agent in their prescription profile.  The meeting will be held in Room B-31 of the Main Capitol.
  • The House Human Services Committee will convene on Wednesday, January 29 at 9:00 a.m. for an informational hearing on traumatic brain injury care needs and coverage options. The hearing will be held in Room G-50 of the Irvis Office Building.
  • The House Health Committee will convene on Wednesday, January 29 at 10:00 a.m. in Room G-50 of the Irvis Office Building to consider the following bills.
    • House Bill 27, which requires health care facilities to adopt and implement policies to mitigate exposure to surgical smoke through the use of a smoke evacuation system for each procedure that generates surgical smoke.
    • House Bill 33, which implements greater oversight of medical marijuana labs and product testing.
    • House Bill 79, which establishes a medical debt relief program in the commonwealth. 

Department of Human Services 

The Department of Human Services (DHS) has issued its report on Medicaid managed care enrollment in Pennsylvania for the month of December.

DHS has updated its calendar of mailing dates for Remittance Advices and corresponding electronic transfers and checks through February. Find the updated calendar here. 

Department of Health  

The Department of Health (DOH) and the Patient Safety Authority have released draft recommendations to all hospitals and birthing centers to mitigate the risk of harm related to shoulder dystocia. Find the draft recommendations and instructions on how to comment in this Pennsylvania Bulletin notice.

Department of Drug & Alcohol Programs

The Department of Drug & Alcohol Programs’ (DDAP) State Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup (SEOW), in partnership with Drexel University’s Department of Community Health and Prevention, has released two new reports.

State Board of Nursing  

The State Board of Nursing has issued proposed rulemaking that would amend regulations related to professional, practical, and certified registered nurse practitioner education programs. The proposed amendments also codify current board practice and update requirements to meet national standards. Find the proposed rulemaking in this Pennsylvania Bulletin notice. 

Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council

The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) has released new county-level utilization data and condition-specific reports, which provide greater insight into ambulatory/outpatient utilization and hospitalization rates for high interest conditions. Find the full reports here. 

Around the State  

  • Pennsylvania anticipates it will receive $212 million over 15 years from a multi-state opioid settlement recently reached with the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma. Read the Pennsylvania Capital-Star’s coverage here. 
  • The Philadelphia Inquirer has published an article about the challenges confronting Governor Shapiro, who is mid-way through his first term, including an anticipated $4.5 billion budget deficit.
  • The Patriot-News has written an article about Pennsylvania’s continued downward trajectory of vaccination rates among children.
  • Spotlight PA has published a detailed article about Bucktail Medical Center and its recent receipt of $1 million from the state in an effort to prevent its closure.

 Stakeholder Meetings

Council on Aging – 2025 Meeting Dates

The Pennsylvania Council on Aging, an independent advisory board under the Office of the Governor and supported by the Department of Aging, has released its meeting schedule for 2025. Find the full schedule and details on how to participate in this Pennsylvania Bulletin notice.

2025-01-24T20:07:55+00:00January 24th, 2025|Meetings and notices, Pennsylvania Bulletin, Pennsylvania Medicaid|Comments Off on PA Health Policy Update for January 24
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Wolf Makes Major Health Appointments

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has nominated Alison Beam to be Secretary of the state’s Department of Health.

Beam, currently Wolf’s deputy chief of staff, is a graduate of the Drexel University of Law.  If confirmed by the state Senate, Ms. Beam would replace Dr. Rachel Levine, who has been nominated by President Biden to serve as Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Governor Wolf also has appointed Dr. Wendy Braund to be the state’s Interim Acting Physician General.  Dr. Levine currently serves in that capacity as well.  Dr. Braund, currently the COVID-19 response director in the state’s Department of Health, earned a master’s degree in public health from Johns Hopkins and an M.D. from the Penn State College of Medicine.

Learn more about the two nominees from this news release from the Wolf administration.

2021-01-25T06:00:23+00:00January 25th, 2021|Pennsylvania Department of Health and COVID-19|Comments Off on Wolf Makes Major Health Appointments
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COVID-19 Update: April 13, 2020

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from Pennsylvania state and federal regulators, legislators, and others as of 4:00 p.m. on Monday, April 13.

Pennsylvania Update

Governor Wolf

  • Last week Governor Wolf signed an executive order to facilitate the targeted distribution of COVID-19 personal protective equipment and supplies among Pennsylvania health care providers. The Department of Health has published an FAQ on this executive order.  The state also has published a survey for health care providers to complete to help it identify current resources.  All covered entities – including hospitals – are required to report inventories of the specified supplies, equipment, and pharmaceuticals by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, April 16.  The state will update and direct completion of the survey in the future as needed.
  • Governor Wolf today announced that he and the governors of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, and Rhode Island will create a multi-state council to “…develop a fully integrated regional framework to gradually lift the states’ stay at home orders while minimizing the risk of increased spread of the [COVID-19] virus.” See the governor’s announcement here.

General Assembly

Harrisburg, PA capital buildingOver the weekend, House Speaker Michael Turzai changed the House of Representatives’ session schedule to hold a non-voting session day today and a voting session day tomorrow in an effort to enable Republicans to move forward with relief efforts for businesses related to the COVID-19 crisis.  There has been speculation that if a quorum is present the Speaker may seek to suspend temporary House rules permitting remote voting to ease the passage of Republican-sponsored relief measures for businesses affected by limits on their ability to operate during the COVID-19 emergency.  The House also has canceled its session for Wednesday and Thursday of this week.

Both the House and Senate are scheduled to return to session on May 4.

Daily Department of Health COVID-19 Briefing

  • In the past few days the number of newly reported COVID-19 cases has declined slightly, leading Department of Health Secretary Levine to declare that “social distancing is working.” The new case increase, she explained, is now linear rather than exponential, although she warned that Pennsylvania may not yet have reached its peak.
  • 1179 health care workers have been diagnosed with COVID-19, which is about four percent of the total state case count.
  • 1688 residents of 215 long-term-care facilities have tested positive as well.
  • Currently 2205 people are in hospitals to be treated for COVID-19 and 665 of them are on ventilators.
  • Across the state, 44 percent of acute-care beds and 38 percent of ICU beds remain unoccupied and nearly 70 percent of ventilators are available for use.
  • The state still lacks testing supplies so only those who are symptomatic are being tested. Secretary Levine hopes to do population-based testing in the future but does not expect to be able to do it in the near future.
  • Serology testing is not available at this time.
  • Governor Wolf spoke to Vice President Pence this morning and reports that the state will be receiving a shipment of N95 masks later this week.
  • Eventually the state hopes to follow up on those who have been discharged from hospitals after being treated for COVID-19 but is not doing that now.
  • While there have been published reports of people who seem to have recovered from COVID-19 suffering relapses, Pennsylvania has not seen any such cases yet.
  • When asked if the state planned to take any additional measures to help hospitals, Secretary Levine pointed to the health care provider money in the federal CARES Act and the $450 million loan program Governor Wolf announced last week.
  • During her Saturday briefing, Secretary Levine said that Philadelphia and southeastern Pennsylvania have enough acute-care beds, ICU beds, and ventilators right now.
  • She also said there could be a surge in southeastern and northeastern Pennsylvania over the next week, with possible surges in western and southeastern Pennsylvania coming later.

Hospital Emergency Loan Program

Late last week Governor Wolf announced a $450 million Hospital Emergency Loan Program.  The state’s Department of Community and Economic Development, which is administering the program, describes it as follows:

The Hospital Emergency Loan Program (HELP) was established to provide critical working capital bridge financing to hospitals located within the Commonwealth that are adversely impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The loan funds are intended to provide a short-term financing solution for hospitals until federal grant funding through the Coronavirus Aid Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is received by the hospitals. The program is administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) through the Pennsylvania First Program (PA First).

Go here for a more detailed description of the program and go here to apply for a loan.

Children’s Health Insurance Program

The state’s CHIP program has announced changes in its program requirements that seek to ease access to CHIP and keep families enrolled in CHIP during the duration of the COVID-19 emergency.

Pennsylvania Hospitals and the CARES Act

Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey’s office reports that the state’s hospitals will receive $1.2 billion of the $30 billion now being distributed by the federal government to hospitals and health care providers.  The $30 billion comes from $100 billion that the CARES Act designated for health care providers.  A second round of funding is expected.

Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry

The Wolf administration has issued a news release summarizing the new federal unemployment compensation benefits established under the CARES Act, including eligibility and payment information.

Federal Update

Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Department of Labor

Food and Drug Administration

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institutes of Health

Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission

  • MACPAC has written to CMS administrator Seema Verma to express its concern that the manner in which CMS has chosen to distribute $30 billion of the $100 billion designated in the CARES Act for hospitals and health care providers “…does not account for the real and pressing concerns of safety-net providers that are on the frontlines of serving the nation’s poorest and most vulnerable people…” MACPAC also asks Ms. Verma to “…ensure that safety-net providers, including hospitals considered deemed disproportionate share hospitals (DSH) for the purpose of Medicaid payment…children’s hospitals, and other providers serving Medicaid and other low-income patients have access to federal funds made available through the CARES Act without delay.”  See the MACPAC letter here.

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

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Main COVID-19 Page

FAQ

(To receive this daily update directly, sign up for our mailing list at info@pasafetynet.org.)

 

2020-04-14T06:00:15+00:00April 14th, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Pennsylvania Department of Health and COVID-19, Pennsylvania Department of Health coronavirus|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: April 13, 2020
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PA Introduces Testing for Coronavirus

Pennsylvania’s Department of Health now has the capacity to test for coronavirus and can perform six such tests a day.

Until Monday, the state needed to send any samples it wanted tested to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, which meant a two- to three-day wait for results.  State turnaround will be 24 hours.

One by one, states are developing this capacity and hospitals and health systems, too, will no doubt be doing the same in the coming weeks.  First, though, their testing must be approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration.  Until then, they will have to rely on the state lab in Chester County.

Learn more about Pennsylvania’s new ability to perform coronavirus tests in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article “Pennsylvania Health Department begins testing for coronavirus.”

2020-03-04T13:00:36+00:00March 4th, 2020|Uncategorized|Comments Off on PA Introduces Testing for Coronavirus
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PA Launches Prescription Drug Monitoring Program

Pennsylvania’s Department of Health has launched its much-anticipated prescription drug monitoring program.
Previously operated by the state’s office of the attorney general but assigned to the state’s Health Department through 2014 legislation, the program requires those authorized to prescribe controlled substance prescription drugs to collect and submit information to the PDMP each time they do so within 72 hours. That information is then stored in a database that is available to health care professionals to help them identify patients who may have problems with controlled substances or may even be going from provider to provider to gain additional prescriptions.
department of healthThe state Health Department has created a web site for the program that includes FAQs about how the PDMP works for those who prescribe and dispense controlled substances. Visit that web site here.

2016-08-31T06:00:46+00:00August 31st, 2016|Uncategorized|Comments Off on PA Launches Prescription Drug Monitoring Program
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Price Transparency Report Released by PA Department of Health

The Pennsylvania Department of Health has published a report it commissioned on the state of health care price transparency in the commonwealth.
Health Benefits Claim FormThe report, prepared by the organization Catalyst for Payment Reform, seeks to

… evaluate the level and robustness of health care price transparency in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania today and the opportunities to enhance it going forward. The report reviews and assesses the legal and regulatory landscape related to price transparency; identifies and compares the best practices of other states that are leading the country in enhancing price transparency; summarizes results from a CPR-conducted evaluation of consumer-facing transparency tools offered by health insurance plans; identifies gaps in price and quality transparency in the state; and lastly, provides actionable recommendations for furthering price transparency to the Commonwealth based on our research, as well as CPR’s expertise in this area.

Find the report here, in the “innovation” section of the web site of Pennsylvania’s Department of Health.

2016-08-24T06:00:23+00:00August 24th, 2016|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Price Transparency Report Released by PA Department of Health
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PA to Push for Value-Based Purchasing of Care

The Secretary of Pennsylvania’s Department of Health has issued a call for greater use of value-based purchasing of health care services in the state.
department of healthAt a conference hosted by the Pittsburgh Business Group on Health, Secretary Karen Murphy invited insurers and employers to work together to pursue a value-based approach to the purchase of health care that would reduce the cost of care while improving the results of the care patients receive.
To support this initiative, Secretary Murphy has created a new innovation center in the state’s Health Department and appointed a deputy secretary to lead this effort.
Learn more about the state’s intentions in this Pittsburgh Business Times article.
 

2015-09-18T06:00:48+00:00September 18th, 2015|Uncategorized|Comments Off on PA to Push for Value-Based Purchasing of Care
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PA Introduces New ER Pain Treatment Guidelines

The Pennsylvania Department of Health and Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs have released new guidelines for the treatment of pain in hospital emergency rooms.
The guidelines, proposed by the Safe and Effective Prescribing Practices and Pain Management Task Force, were developed by the Pennsylvania College of Emergency Physicians and presented by a task force that included representatives of government, health care professions, and associations.
See a state news release about the guidelines here and download the guidelines themselves here.

2014-08-27T06:00:47+00:00August 27th, 2014|Uncategorized|Comments Off on PA Introduces New ER Pain Treatment Guidelines
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  • P: (717) 234-6970

  • 2020 Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania

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