The Trump Administration announced progress toward building a smarter, more secure, and more personalized healthcare experience in partnership with innovative private sector companies. During a White House “Make Health Tech Great Again” event hosted with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Administration secured commitments from major healthcare and information technology firms – including Amazon, Anthropic, Apple, Google, and OpenAI – to begin laying the foundation for a next-generation digital health ecosystem that will improve patient outcomes, reduce provider burden, and drive value. Click here to learn more.

On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed into legislation the Social Security Amendments establishing the Medicare and Medicaid program. Since then, these programs have expanded beyond the original coverage for Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) and Part B (Medical Insurance) to include people with disabilities, those with end-stage renal disease, and to offer prescription drug coverage. Medicaid was established to provide health coverage for low-income individuals and families but has evolved to cover pregnant women, those with special needs, disabilities and those caring for these individuals. While Medicare is a federal program, Medicaid is jointly funded by federal and state funds but administered by states. It covers 23% of all Pennsylvanians, which is approximately three million people including 59% of all Nursing Home Residents and 35% of all births in Pennsylvania. 

With the recent announcement that CMS will not renew state programs to promote multiyear, continuous Medicaid eligibility through 1115 waivers, Pennsylvania will continue enrollment as normal. The waiver would have allowed states to expand continuous eligibility to additional populations, as well as to increase the length of time that individuals could stay enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP, regardless of changes in circumstance that would have made an individual otherwise ineligible for continued Medicaid or CHIP eligibility. The new CMS policy will revert to the statutory minimum of 12 months of continuous eligibility for children and post-partum coverage for all states. While a waiver for Pennsylvania was approved this past November, the Department of Human Services did not put it into effect. 

The American Cancer Society National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable has released a practical guide aimed at increasing colorectal cancer screening in rural communities. This resource provides tailored strategies to help overcome unique barriers faced by rural populations, including limited healthcare access and awareness. The guide emphasizes collaboration with local organizations and the use of evidence-based interventions. By supporting healthcare providers and community leaders, this initiative strives to boost screening rates and improve health outcomes in underserved rural areas.

The FY 2026 Health Center Program Look-Alike (LAL) Renewal Designation (RD) application is in development. Beginning in FY 2026, LALs will transition from a three-year to a four-year period of designation. This change will reduce the administrative burden for LALs while maintaining HRSA’s commitment to ensuring continued compliance with Health Center Program requirements. Key transition details:

·    LALs with a Dec. 31, 2025, period of designation end date will receive a one-year extension and will instead submit an LAL Annual Certification.

·    All other LALs with a period of designation end date in FY 2026 will transition to a four-year period of designation following submission and approval of their LAL RD application.

HRSA will post instructions and supporting materials to the LAL RD TA webpage. HRSA will notify LALs of the submission deadline via HRSA EHBs.

Rep. John Joyce (PA-13) introduced the “Specialty Physicians Advancing Rural Care (SPARC) Act,” which would create a student loan repayment program for rural doctors. “Rural communities throughout the country are facing a rising physician shortage, creating barriers to care for patients with already limited options,” said Rep. John Joyce, MD. “By creating a student loan repayment program for specialty physicians serving in rural areas, we can incentivize physicians and bridge the gap caused by the physician shortage.” Click here to learn more.

The legislation would provide new regulations for how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is utilized and reported by insurers, hospitals, and clinicians. These groups would need to provide transparency to patients and the public as to how AI is being used in their companies or practice settings. Read more.

The Pennsylvania Department of Aging (PDA) announced the members appointed by Governor Josh Shapiro to serve on the Alzheimer’s, Dementia and Related Disorders (ADRD) Advisory Committee, which will support the Commonwealth’s first-ever ADRD Office within PDA. “The Pennsylvania Department of Aging is proud to help, support and advocate for those impacted by Alzheimer’s and Dementia. This Advisory Committee will support the ADRD Office with its goals of addressing the growing public health crisis in our Commonwealth while further amplifying the Department’s work,” said Secretary of Aging Jason Kavulich. “I am grateful for Governor Shapiro and the General Assembly for investing in and providing support for this Office and its Advisory Committee. I look forward to working with our partners to improve the lives of Pennsylvanians living with ADRD, their families and caregivers.” Representing Community Health Centers on the committee are Katie Noss, BSN, RN, Director of Clinical Operations, Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers (PACHC) and Jignesh Sheth MD, MPH, FACP, Senior Vice President/Chief Operations and Strategy Officer, The Wright Center for Community Health. Learn more about the ADRD Office by visiting the Department of Aging’s website.

The Individual and Small Group Affordable Care Act Health Insurance Proposed Rates for 2026 are available on the Pennsylvania Insurance Department’s (PID) Website. On average, the Pennsylvania Health Insurance Exchange (Pennie) insurers on the individual market requested a 19% premium increase based on rising health care costs and medications, higher use of benefits, and the anticipated end of Enhanced Premium Tax Credits which are set to expire Dec 31. Insurers on the Small Group market requested an average 13% rate increase. Of the current eight Individual market insurers, Ambetter, Capital Blue Cross, Geisinger, Highmark, Independence Blue Cross, Jefferson Health Plans, Oscar, and UPMC, three are requesting to expand into additional counties increasing their coverage footprint. A public comment period on these rate requests and filings will be accepted through Sep. 2 and can be emailed to ra-in-comment@pa.gov. Open Enrollment for Pennie begins Nov. 1,2025.