The Senate voted to limit debate on short-term agency spending, and passed the Continuing Resolution (CR) previously passed by the House of Representatives last Tuesday, Sept. 22. The CR provides a stopgap for government funding to avoid a shutdown and extend government-funded programs until Dec. 11, 2020. The bill also includes an extension of mandatory funding for the Health Center Fund, the National Health Service Corps, and the Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education Program until Dec. 11.

The Wolf Administration in collaboration with the General Assembly and other agencies released Pennsylvania’s Statewide Suicide Prevention Plan which can be found here. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the country, claiming more than twice as many lives each year as homicide. Approximately 1.4 million adults attempt suicide annually in the U.S., with more than 85 percent reporting having made a suicide plan prior to their attempt. In Pennsylvania alone there were tragically 2,017 people who completed suicide in 2018. The plan, developed by the state’s Suicide Prevention Task Force, is a four-year strategy to reduce suicide in Pennsylvania by fighting stigma, increasing training and education on suicide and mental health, improving data collection for suicide, and supporting clinical practices and treatment to prevent suicide and help those who are struggling or in crisis. Moving forward, the task force will continue working with stakeholders at the local, regional, and state levels to support and monitor the implementation of the plan. Click
here to learn more.

Amid the pandemic, rising health care costs and magnified health inequities, Gov. Tom Wolf unveiled a plan that addresses comprehensive health reforms focusing on both physical and behavioral health and promoting affordability, accessibility and value in health care. The three main components of the plan include:

• Interagency Health Reform Council (IHRC). Established with an executive order the governor signed at the press conference today, the council will be composed of commonwealth agencies involved in health and the governor’s office. The initial goal will be to develop recommendations by Dec. 30 to find efficiencies in the healthcare system by thinking about how to align programs where feasible, including the joint purchasing of medications, aligning value-based purchasing models, and using data across state agencies to promote evidence-based decisions.
• Regional Accountable Health Councils (RAHCs). The Department of Human Services will add requirements to form five RAHCs across the state into the managed care agreements. RAHCs will be required to collectively develop regional transformation plans–built on community needs assessments–to reduce disparities, address social determinants of health, and align value-based purchasing arrangements.
• Health Value Commission. The governor will work with the legislature to establish the Health Value Commission, charged with keeping all payors and providers accountable for healthcare cost growth, to provide the long-term affordability and sustainability of our healthcare system, and to promote whole-person care. As proposed, the newly created entity would be led by up to 15 commissioners appointed by the governor and the General Assembly who have an expertise in the healthcare marketplace, including five state agency heads.

Click here to learn more.

The HRSA-funded National Clinician Consultation Center (NCCC) provides free, point of care tele-consultation (online or over the phone) to any clinician seeking expert clinical guidance on substance use, hepatitis C, and HIV prevention and treatment.

The Rural Health Information Hub updated their toolkit to include new information on the role of community health workers (CHW) in rural communities, examples of CHW programs, and resources for implementing a program.

Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it will expand the Medicare Prior Authorization Model for Repetitive, Scheduled Non-Emergent Ambulance Transport (RSNAT) nationwide.  This model allows for certain Medicare beneficiaries to ride in ambulances to certain medical appointments, most often for dialysis treatment, when the service is approved in advance. The evaluation found that the model reduces Medicare spending without changing quality or access to care in both rural and non-rural areas.

For laboratories seeking Medicare Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) certification to test for COVID-19, CMS released a guide last week to help with the application process and the expedited review process, including how to submit the form to the correct state agency.  Under the public health emergency, labs have the option to pay CLIA certification fees on the CMS CLIA Program website, and they can start COVID-19 testing before the official paper certificate arrives by postal mail.