Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding reminded farmers to apply by March 1 for $13 million in tax credits for measures to improve soil and water quality. Tax credits are available through Pennsylvania’s nationally recognized Resource Enhancement and Protection Program (REAP), which was expanded under the PA Farm Bill.

“Taking care of the soil and water is an economic imperative for our farms,” said Redding. “REAP tax credits are just one element of our strategy to support farmers as they feed our future and grow a viable, sustainable Pennsylvania farm economy.”

REAP is a Pennsylvania tax credit program for agricultural producers who implement best management practices (BMP) or purchase equipment that reduces nutrient and sediment runoff, enhancing soil and improving the quality of Pennsylvania’s waterways. Farmers may receive up to $250,000 in any seven-year period, and spouses filing jointly can use REAP Tax Credits.

The most common projects approved are for no-till planting and precision ag equipment, waste storage facilities, conservation plans, Nutrient Management Plans, and protecting animal heavy-use areas, like barnyards. Cover crops that help soil retain water, carbon and nutrients, and planted buffers that keep sediment out of streams are also commonly funded projects. Farmers may receive REAP tax credits of 50 to 75 percent of the project’s eligible out-of-pocket cost. Farmers whose operation is in a watershed with an EPA-mandated Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) can receive REAP tax credits of 90 percent of out-of-pocket costs for some projects.

Almost 350 farms in 54 Pennsylvania counties were approved for REAP tax credits in 2019-20. Tax credits can be used in conjunction with other funding sources such as the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP), the Chesapeake Bay Program or Conservation Excellence Grants to help install BMPs. In 2019-20, applicants used $5.5 million in other funding to pay for projects receiving REAP tax credits.

REAP applications are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis. Baseline eligibility includes compliance with the PA Clean Streams Law and the Pennsylvania Nutrient and Odor Management Law.

Private investors may act as project sponsors by providing capital in exchange for tax credits. Any individual or business subject to taxation by Pennsylvania through personal income tax, corporate net income tax, the bank shares tax or others is eligible to participate in REAP.

Since the program began in 2007, REAP has awarded tax credits to more than 5,500 projects totaling over $100 million. Private investments in REAP have also contributed to the conservation projects, which in total are worth nearly $250 million.

More information about REAP, including the 2020-21 application packet and program guidelines, is available at agriculture.pa.gov.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health is pleased to announce the opening of the Pennsylvania Primary Care Loan Repayment Program (LRP) Practitioner Application.

The LRP provides grant funding for educational loan repayment to primary care practitioners serving medically underserved populations.  Educational loan repayment is an incentive to recruitment and retention of practitioners for service in federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas and other underserved communities:

• The Request for Applications (RFA) #67-119 is attached for your reference.  Copies of RFA#67-119 can be downloaded from   https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/Health-Planning/Pages/Loan-Repayment.aspx
• Applications are being accepted from February 8, 2021 until 11:59 pm March 24,2021.
• Program information, application procedures and application instructions are found in RFA#67-119.
• All applications must be submitted via the Loan Repayment Program’s web-based application through the link on the above website.
• Questions regarding this RFA must be submitted via email to loanrepayment@pa.gov on or before March 5, 2021.  No questions will be answered via phone or e-mail.  Answers to all question submitted by March 5 will be posted on the above website by March 12, 2021 and will be considered an addendum to the RFA.

By Liz Carey

In the 1990s, Congress responded to a crisis in rural hospital closures with the Critical Access Hospital program. The program provides ways to boost the financial health of small, mostly rural hospitals. But a new set of threats looms.
Read more

By Liz Carey February 5, 2021

Proposed bipartisan legislation would put in place safeguards such as public comment period to ensure that facilities currently operating as Critical Access Hospitals can’t lose their designation overnight.

In an effort to protect rural hospitals, two members of Congress are introducing legislation that will rein in the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services.

U.S. Representatives Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Antonio Delgado (D-N.Y.) joined forces last week to introduce the bi-partisan Protecting Rural Access to Care Act, which would protect rural hospitals with the Critical Access Hospital (CAH) designation.

Rural hospitals designated as Critical Access Hospitals must be 35 miles by primary roads or 15 miles by secondary roads from the nearest other hospital, among other requirements. In exchange for higher rates of reimbursement on Medicare and Medicaid patients, in an effort to keep those hospitals open in rural areas.

For more information, read our explainer.

The legislation is designed to bring certification standards for CAHs back to their 2015 levels and to make them permanent. The legislation will also require the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) to use public notice and comment periods for any future guidance or regulation changes.

Currently, CMS can make changes to how CAHs are determined just by changing the rules, which it did in 2015. In 2006, a primary road was defined as an interstate highway, a U.S. highway, an expressway, a state-divided highway with two or more lanes each way, or any road with at least two contiguous miles where the speed limit is 45 miles per hour or greater.

In 2015, CMS changed the definition to any numbered Interstate or US route regardless of its terrain, meaning any road designated by I or U.S. would be considered a primary road. According to this definition, U.S. 220, or the Blue Ridge Parkway which runs through the Great Smoky Mountains would be considered a primary road and not a secondary one, and requiring any hospital on it to be 35 miles away from another hospital, instead of 15 miles.

Likewise, in Stefanik’s state, US 4, a two lane road that runs from East Greenbush, New York to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, would be considered a primary road. US 4 runs along the Hudson River to the Hudson Fallan and the Champlain Canal passing through riverside and canalside communities like Mechanicville, New York, population 5,107.

By changing the definition of what constituted a primary road, CMS essentially eliminated some rural hospitals from being CAHs without any warning at all. Typically, federal agencies must let people know that they are considering making changes to a rule, and allow the public time to comment on it before making those changes final.

Currently, in order to qualify as a CAH, a hospital has to be at least 35 miles from the nearest hospital, or have been certified as a necessary healthcare services provider prior to 2006. The new bill would correct the CMS changes made in 2015, and require CMS to let the public know in advance if it were making changes to its rules.

“The bill (Protecting Rural Access to Care) specifies that this (new primary road) guidance does not apply to CAHs that were certified prior to July 31, 2015, and that these CAHs are instead subject to the standards that were in place before the guidance was issued. Ongoing CAH certifications are also subject to pre-guidance standards until the CMS issues new guidance after a specified public comment period,” states the summary of the bill.

The bill would also require CMS rule changes to follow “notice of proposed rulemaking” (NPRM) procedures. Under NPRM, an independent federal agency must issue a public notice if it decides to add, remove or change a rule or regulation. Once that notice is made, the new rule or regulation is open to public comment before being enacted.

“This is an important issue for rural hospitals as this reflects a persistent problem at CMS, that of sub-regulatory guidance,” Brock Slabach, National Rural Health Association’s senior vice president for member services, said via email. “These documents don’t go through a NPRM process. Escaping the rulemaking process, policy can be made without any input or comment from the public.”

This happened in 2015, he said, when CMS made changes in the distance requirements of CAHs, essentially ending their reimbursement status for some hospitals with the stroke of a pen.

Stefanik said she wanted to ensure that didn’t happen again.

“I am proud to introduce the Protecting Rural Access to Care Act, a necessary and permanent solution to protect North Country hospitals and healthcare centers,” Stefanik said in a statement.

“The guidance that was released by CMS in 2015 put rural hospitals and healthcare centers at a dangerous risk of losing their Critical Access Hospital certification and the much-needed benefits that come with it. I was proud to work directly with district hospitals and the previous administration to place a temporary pause on re-certifications during the Covid-19 pandemic. This bill will provide a long-lasting solution.”

Stefanik also introduced the same legislation in August of 2020, where the bill was forwarded to the House Ways and Means Committee where it died.

Administrators with rural hospitals in New York support the bill.  “Critical Access Hospitals have been the cornerstone for providing quality healthcare to rural communities,” said Rich Duvall, Carthage Area Hospital CEO said in a statement.  “Without them, patients would have to travel long distances to receive care. Now more than ever, their importance is significant, especially during the Covid pandemic. The Protecting Rural Access to Care Act ensures the survival of Critical Access Hospitals in New York State and across the nation.”

On February 3, 2021, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf outlined his budget plan to remove barriers and cut taxes for working class families in Pennsylvania while investing billions of dollars into Pennsylvania schools​ and workforce development initiatives. The governor’s plan would make Pennsylvania’s tax structure more fair and equitable, cutting taxes for working class families while still making historic investments in public education through the fair funding formula.

“We will defeat COVID, but we can’t yet say when it will be safe for life to return to normal – and it’s hard to know what ‘normal’ will even look like. But I refuse to tell any young family in Pennsylvania that they just happen to be starting out at the wrong time – that, with everything going on, 2021 just isn’t going to be the year we get around to lifting the barriers that stand between them and the future they hope to provide for their children,” Gov. Wolf said. “I think it’s more important than ever that we act boldly and courageously to remove those barriers once and for all. So, today, I’m proposing a budget designed to do exactly that.”

The governor is asking Pennsylvanians to join him in urging the General Assembly to focus on these priorities as the 2021-22 state budget negotiations begin.

“We can have a great public school for every child in every neighborhood in Pennsylvania, good job opportunities for everyone who wants them, and an economy strong enough to provide for everyone. It is possible to pursue a legislative agenda for this commonwealth that is good for families, good for businesses, and good for the economy,” Gov. Wolf said. “Most of all, I think your family’s future is important enough that we ought to just have this argument right now instead of putting it off until next year, and the year after that, and the year after that. Let’s make Pennsylvania an even better place to live, work, and dream big dreams for your kids.”

Governor Wolf’s budget plan builds on his recently unveiled 2021 agenda.

• Cutting Taxes for Pennsylvania Working Class Families and Making the Tax System More Fair and Equitable
• Reaffirm Our Commitment to Build the Strongest Education System in the Country

• • Put all Basic Education Funding through the Fair Funding Formula
  • Stabilizing Child Care and Ensuring Equal Access for Families
  • Increase Special Education, Head Start and PreK Funding
  • Introduce Accountability into the EITC and OSTC
  • Nellie Bly College Tuition Program
  • Attract and Retain the Best Teachers for Our Children
  • Comprehensive Charter School Law Reform
  • Applying the Special Education Formula to All Charter Schools:  Establishing a Statewide Cyber Charter Tuition Rate
  • Improving the Redirection Process
• Get Pennsylvania Back on Track After the Pandemic
  • Inject Billions into a Reformed Workforce Development System
  • Invest in Public Infrastructure, Including School Buildings
  • Increase the Minimum Wage to $12/hour, with a path to $15/hour
• Build on Bipartisan Progress 
  • Reform the Criminal Justice System
  • Reduce the Corporate Net Income Tax and Close the Delaware Loophole
  • Legalize Adult-Use Cannabis
• Change Harrisburg by Demanding Accountability   
  • Reintroduce the Governor’s Government Reform Plan
  • Curb Special Interest Influence
  • Build on Election Reform

Watch the Governor’s address at pacast.com/.

For more information:

Read More About the Governor’s Budget Proposal

Read the Budget Proposal Press Release

Templates to educate patients, build trust and confidence in the rural hospital and clinic and communicate services

The Customizable Communications Toolkit supports rural hospitals and clinics in developing internal and external communication materials.

Each topic includes customizable templates such as educational flyers/posters, newspaper scripts, radio scripts, talking points for leaders and staff, materials that can be printed, website graphics, landing page content, social media graphics/posts, digital displays, infographics, and digital videos.