The Pennsylvania Primary Care Career Center is seeking a Talent Acquisition Specialist to join their team and help Community Health Centers recruit primary care providers and other staff. If you know anyone who would be a great candidate for this position, please share the link to the job post and encourage them to apply online or send their resume and cover letter to Caitlin Wilkinson, Co-Director of the Pennsylvania Primary Care Career Center.

Legislation reining in prescription drug middlemen was signed by the Governor this week. House Bill 1993 deals with contracts between pharmacies and the 72 pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) operating in the state, transparency and accountability measures and pharmacies administering immunizations among other things. Through our aggressive advocacy, PACHC was able to have language added to help protect covered entities, including FQHCs, from pickpocketing by PBMs. The language in the bill in Chapter 6 states that, A PBM licensed by the department to conduct business in this Commonwealth may not, as part of a contract agreement issued or renewed following the effective date of this section with a pharmacist or pharmacy under this part reimburse a qualified health center or covered entity an amount lesser than similar entities not participating in the program under section 340(b) of the Public Health Service Act (58 Stat. 682, 42 U.S.C. § ). This language does not address the issue with contract pharmacies.

Rep. Mike Kelly R-PA from the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee is sponsoring the Health Care Sharing Ministry Tax Parity Act (HCSM). The bill would allow members of faith-based organizations and ministries to deduct healthcare related expenses from their taxes to achieve tax fairness for ministries that share health care costs. The rules make it clear that these organizations would not be able to offer health insurance to ensure there would be no loopholes with the current tax rules. Millions of Americans participate in HCSM programs sharing the cost of more than $1 billion in medical expenses.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued a final rule under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to strengthen nondiscrimination protections and advance civil rights in health care. This rule reinstates non-discrimination standards for all Health and Human Services health programs and activities, protects LGBTQI+ patients from discrimination, requires that all entities including insurers and providers let people know language assistance and services are available, requires staff training on sections of the 1557 policies and respects federal guarantees regarding religious freedoms and conscience as set for by 45 CFR 92.3 and 92.302. See the Fact Sheet.

The Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act of 2024, HR 4581, passed through both the House and the Senate, and now awaits President Biden’s signature before it becomes law. The bipartisan bill amends the Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant program to allow states to use those dollars for stillbirth prevention and research activities but does not include additional funding.

On Tuesday, June 25, by a margin of 133-69, lawmakers in the Pennsylvania House passed House Bill 1140, which would require health insurance policies – as well as government health insurance programs like Medical Assistance and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) – to cover FDA-approved contraceptive drugs, devices and products for covered individuals. The bill’s prime sponsor, Democratic state Rep. Leanne Krueger, said in a statement after the House vote that the bill would establish state-level protections for contraceptive access. “Pennsylvania currently has no protections in state law for contraceptive access, so attacks at the federal level jeopardize our access,” Krueger said. The bill currently awaits action from the state Senate.

Health committees in the Pennsylvania House and Senate are working on a compromise agreement that will increase oversight of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). The Pennsylvania legislation would allow the state’s Insurance Department to regulate certain aspects of pharmacy benefit managers’ business that have been called anti-competitive. Read more. Included in this legislation is language that will prohibit PBMs from reimbursing qualified health centers participating in 340B less than they would reimburse similar entities that do not participate in the program. This is an evolving process so stay tuned for updates.

Legislation addressing worker shortages in healthcare and facilitating Pennsylvania’s entry into interstate compacts has been sent to Gov. Josh Shapiro to be signed into law. Sponsored by Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria, HB 2200 enables interstate licensing compacts to become operational. The legislation requires applicants in healthcare professions to submit fingerprints as part of their criminal history records check and lays out the process that Pennsylvania State Police and state licensing boards must follow in considering them. The change in law allows licensees to practice in other participating states with just one license. Without the fingerprinting process in place, previous efforts to implement the compacts were unsuccessful.