PA Health Policy Update for November 3
The following is an update of selected state health policy developments in Pennsylvania from October 30 – November 3. (Some of the language used below is taken directly from state documents.)
Governor Shapiro
Governor Shapiro was joined by legislators for a ceremonial signing of Senate Bill 262 this week. Senate Bill 262, which is now known as Act 5 of 2023, improves access to timely data on maternal health and maternal mortality in Pennsylvania. The increased access to data will enable researchers, doctors, and policymakers to make more informed medical care decisions. Find additional information in this press release.
The Shapiro administration has announced the launch of PAyback.pa.gov, an online money-back guarantee system that allows eligible residents, businesses, charities, and schools to request a refund of their permit, license, or certification application fee. This initiative is an outcome of Executive Order 2023-07, which directed state agencies to standardize timeframes for processing permits, licenses, and certifications. If those timeframes are not met, applicants may request their fee be refunded.
General Assembly
- The state House of Representatives convened in Harrisburg for session this week. The House is now in recess until Monday, November 13 when the Senate will return to session as well.
- The House Health Committee met this week and favorably reported House Bill 1795, which removes state requirements that exceed federal statute related to source plasma donation centers. The committee also reported as amended Senate Bill 773, which makes certain changes to the state’s Medical Marijuana Act.
- The House Health Committee’s Subcommittee on Health Care held an informational meeting this week on legalizing cannabis for adult use. Find a recording of the meeting here.
Department of Human Services
- The Department of Human Services (DHS) has posted in the Pennsylvania Bulletin its annual list of each inpatient acute care general hospital, rehabilitation hospital, and private psychiatric hospital qualifying for a disproportionate share payment and their respective disproportionate share payment percentage. Find the full list here.
- DHS published a notice with details on the implementation of the statewide hospital quality care assessment, which are consistent with Act 15 of 2023 passed by the General Assembly earlier this month. The Act set the assessment percentage rate for FY 2023-2024 as 3.54% of net inpatient revenue and 1.78% of net outpatient revenue. The department will use hospitals’ net inpatient and net outpatient revenue for state FY 2018-2019 to calculate the amount owed. Find the full notice here.
- DHS has released its report on Medicaid managed care enrollment in Pennsylvania for the month of September.
- DHS has shared the following presentations used at the Medical Assistance Advisory Committee (MAAC) meeting on October 26.
- DHS has shared the following presentations used at the MAAC Consumer Subcommittee meeting on October 25.
- DHS has published a Medical Assistance Bulletin, the purpose of which is to advise providers that the Department will provide coverage for sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing kits for at-home specimen collection, effective with dates of service on and after December 1, 2023.
Department of Health 
- The Department of Health updated the staffing tool it offers to assist long-term care facilities with compliance with the new staffing ratio requirements. With this update, the sheets can now be printed on one page and the ratios are no longer calculated to two decimal places. Click here to access a direct download of the spreadsheet.
- DOH cautioned providers about a recent consumer warning by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration related to eye drops from several major brands that have been linked to serious eye infections. See the full FDA warning here, which includes a list of the affected brands.
Revenue Collection Update
The Department of Revenue has announced Pennsylvania collected $3.2 billion in General Fund revenue in October, which was $119.8 million, or 3.8 percent, more than anticipated. Fiscal year-to-date General Fund collections total $13.1 billion, which is $47.5 million, or 0.4 percent, below estimate.
Medicaid Continuous Coverage Unwinding
- DHS is maintaining an online dashboard with Medicaid continuous coverage unwinding data. The data on this dashboard tracks the renewal process by county and zip code. Additional updates and resources about the Medicaid eligibility renewal process may be found here.
- DHS has published the following resources to help providers educate patients about Medicaid renewals and what to do if they are no longer eligible for Medicaid.
Stakeholder Events
DOS – Board of Nursing – November 6
The Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing will hold a meeting on Monday, November 6. The meeting will be conducted in person and virtually. Find an agenda and additional details on how to participate here.
DOH – Newborn Screening and Follow-Up Technical Advisory Board – November 16
The Newborn Screening and Follow-Up Technical Advisory Board will hold a public meeting on Thursday, November 16 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The meeting will be conducted in person and virtually. Find additional information and details on how to participate in this Pennsylvania Bulletin notice.
During the PHE, the number of uninsured children in the state fell from 4.6 percent to 4.4 percent, but some of that improvement could be reversed as the state begins to redetermine the eligibility of more than 3.5 million people currently on the state’s Medicaid rolls after a more than two-year hiatus in eligibility reviews. Today, more than 1.4 million children in Pennsylvania are enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP.
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.
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.
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.
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.
SNAP has urged Congress to extend the Medicare sequestration delay on a number of occasions, doing so most recently in this