The Pennsylvania Department of Health released Health Alert 525-09-14: Guidance for Patients Under Quarantine After Exposure to SARS-CoV-2. If PA DOH or the local health department identifies that someone is a close contact to a person with COVID-19, the close contact must quarantine for 14 days from last contact, even if the person remains asymptomatic. A negative test result obtained while a close contact is under quarantine does not release the person from quarantine. Because infection can develop up to 14 days after exposure, persons with negative test results must still quarantine for the full 14 days. Patients being tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection must be instructed to isolate at home until results are received. Click here to access all of the 2020 health alerts, advisories and updates.
340B Update: Request a Meeting with OMB
HRSA has drafted an Interim Final Rule (IFR) that would implement the President’s Executive Order on insulin and EpiPens. This IFR is currently being reviewed by OMB, which is the last step before it is published. (No draft has yet been released to the public.) Once published, it will go into effect almost immediately, before any opportunity for public comment. However, OMB is legally required to hold “listening sessions” with any groups who request one before they finalize their review. Therefore, PACHC and NACHC encourage health centers to reach out to OMB ASAP to request a meeting, as follows:
- Go to https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eo/neweomeeting
- When it asks for the RIN, enter “0906-AB25”
- OMB MUST accept your request unless they’ve already approved the rule (although they may try to condense several meetings into one)
Requesting a meeting will allow FQHCs to share their concerns with the proposal and help to slow down the approval process.
September 30 Monthly Assister Webinar
Join on Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 10:00 am to discuss the PA state-based marketplace, important updates and information, assister training and more. All enrollment assisters should attend. Click here to join. **New** You will be connected to audio and video through the GoToMeeting weblink.
Using Social Media for Back-to-School Outreach
On Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 2:00 pm, InsurekidsNow.gov will present a webinar focused on the Connecting Kids to Coverage National Campaign. This webinar will help organizations leverage social media to reach parents and other community members at the local level and amplify messages that encourage families to enroll and renew Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) health coverage. Using the back-to-school season as a key moment in time, this webinar will provide an overview of the mostly widely used social media platforms by parents, explain the differences, discuss best practices for each, and share useful resources that can help organizations incorporate these tactics to reach more families and get them to take action in the new school year. To participate, register here.
Assisters Must be Registered
Navigators and Certified Application Counselors (Assisters) must be registered with the Pennsylvania Insurance Department to provide enrollment assistance to consumers seeking coverage on Healthcare.gov and on the upcoming Pennsylvania insurance exchange, Pennie.com. Registrations last for two years. To renew your current or expired registration or verify your expiration date, go to PID’s Licensee Verification Page.
2021 Pennsylvania Marketplace Plan Preview Webinars
MARK YOUR CALENDAR – PACHC will be hosting two webinars to preview the 2021 PA State-based Health Insurance Marketplace plans on Wednesday, Oct. 21 and Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020. These webinars will provide enrollment assisters with information on individual plan design offerings for the upcoming enrollment period which begins on Nov. 1, 2020 and ends Jan 15, 2021. Each plan presentation will be 20-25 minutes with time for questions from attendees. Assisters need to be familiar with changes in provider networks, tiering and plan benefits to aid consumers in making the best choice for their needs.
Important Information about Assister Training and Registration
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2021 Assister Certification training for those operating on the federally facilitated marketplace. Pennsylvania assisters (Navigators and Certified Application Counselors) SHOULD NOT take this training. Pennsylvania is a state-based marketplace for the 2021 Enrollment period. The Pennsylvania assister training will be available by Oct. 1, 2020 from the Pennsylvania Health Insurance Exchange Authority (Pennie) through Cognosante, PACHC’S partner for assister services. New guidance has also been released regarding Pennsylvania Insurance Department (PID)registration for new enrollment assisters. For those who have not previously taken assister training and have never registered with PID, you may now register prior to completing your training. This is a change from previous years. For more information, please contact Tia Whitaker, Statewide Director for Outreach and Enrollment.
Bi-Partisan Group in U.S. House Working on Fourth Stimulus Package
According to The Hill, the Problem Solvers Caucus, comprised of centrist Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. House, will propose a $1.5 trillion package that provides another round of stimulus checks, boosted unemployment insurance and much-needed aid for cities and states. This proposal is in response to the continued stalemate between the U.S. House and Senate and the White House around a fourth stimulus package. The proposed package does not include additional funding for FQHCs. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks) is the vice-chair of the caucus. Other members of the Pennsylvania delegation in the caucus include Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Chester), Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Lebanon) and Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-Lancaster).
More than Half of U.S. House Asks Azar to Address Drug Makers’ 340B Actions Immediately
In a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar, more than half of the members of the U.S. House of Representatives indicated that “it is imperative that immediate action is taken to ensure covered entities continue to receive crucial 340B drug discounts.” The bipartisan Sept. 14 letter, was spearheaded by Reps. David McKinley (R-WV) and Diana DeGette (D-CO) in response to recent drug manufacturer actions to restrict federally required 340B drug discounts. The letter asserts the actions undermine the 340B program’s intended purpose and the 243 representatives said HHS, “must take immediate action to stop these companies from either denying or limiting access to 340B pricing to hospitals, health centers, and clinics participating in 340B.” The bipartisan letter is a powerful political rebuke of five drug manufacturers’ recent actions limiting contract pharmacy participation in the program. The bipartisan letter increases pressure on Azar to do something to stop the drug makers. Fourteen of the 18 members of the Pennsylvania delegation signed on to the letter including Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Philadelphia), Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Luzerne), Rep. Madeline Dean (D-Montgomery), Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Allegheny), Rep. Dwight Evans, (D-Philadelphia), Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks), Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Chester), Rep. Fred Keller (R-Lycoming), Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Erie), Rep. Connor Lamb (D-Allegheny), Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Westmoreland), Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Delaware), Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Centre) and Rep. Susan Wild (D-Lehigh). In addition, 28 U.S. senators-including Senator Casey (D-PA)-also wrote a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar to urge the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) “to take immediate and appropriate enforcement action” to halt “recent actions from pharmaceutical manufacturers that threaten to undermine the role of contract pharmacies in the 340B drug pricing program.”
Wolf Administration Launches Resource to Support Kinship Caregivers
The PA Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Department of Aging (PDA) Secretary launched KinConnector, a resource designed to help kinship care families connect to services and supports that can help children and their caregivers. Grandparents raising grandchildren are among the most common type of kinship caregiver, but kinship care families also can include an aunt or uncle, adult sibling, or a non-relative caregiver such as a close family friend raising a child when their parents cannot care for them. Kinship care arrangements help maintain family bonds and reduce trauma experienced when children cannot be cared for by their own parents. KinConnector is part of a kinship navigator program for Pennsylvania that will assist kinship care families to access resources and supports and connect with families in similar situations around the commonwealth. KinConnector also runs a helpline with English and Spanish options that can be reached by calling 1-866-KIN-2111 (1-866-546-2111).