The Pennsylvania House of Representatives’ Human Services Committee met on September 18, 2019 to consider legislation to place regulations on how suboxone is prescribed to patients. The provider community, including PACHC, was heavily engaged with the legislature to express concerns about Senate Bill 675 ahead of the committee meeting. Chair Gene DiGirolamo (R-Bucks) decided to withhold the bill in the committee after hearing concerns from providers and members of the committee. Rep. DiGirolamo and staff will convene stakeholder conversations to revisit the bill to address provider concerns with the current language while also meeting the legislation’s goal of eliminating “cash clinics” – provider operations that provide suboxone prescriptions for cash payment without counseling.

On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives’ Health Committee voted unanimously to pass Rep. Clint Owlett’s (R-Tioga) House Bill 533, which streamlines the current credentialing process for provider applications to managed care organizations (MCOs) and commercial insurance plans. Rep. Owlett passionately spoke on behalf of the provider community in the committee and has been adamant that the final bill will be fair to both providers and insurers to ensure that there is a timely process to complete applications as well as have an established communications loop.

As part of an ongoing effort by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) to assess the extent to which FORHP-administered grant programs align with the needs of rural communities, HRSA has published a Request for Information (RFI) soliciting public comment.  Respondents are asked to comment on whether and how the eligibility criteria governing FORHP’s community-based grant programs affect rural communities’ ability to leverage grant funding through FORHP.  RFI responses must be provided via email to RFIComments@hrsa.gov and must reference “Rural Health Grants Eligibility RFI” in the title.  Submissions are due no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on November 2, 2019. HRSA will not accept hard-copy responses or other formats.

Researchers have called for a new model of team-based care called “advanced team care with in-room support” in a report in the Annals of Family Medicine. They state that old primary care team models are “underpowered” and where the new model has been deployed, there has been improved productivity and growth, as well as enhanced patient and staff satisfaction. The researchers also contend the model would “allow clinicians to shed that portion of clinical and administrative work that a well-trained, well-staffed team could easily perform.” Attend “Team-Based Care: Empowering Patients, Reducing Provider Burnout and Achieving Quality” at our Annual Conference & Clinical Summit.  You’ll hear how one health center has created a financially sustainable structure that is transparent, promotes both patient and provider buy-in to team-based care, and incorporates performance improvement, care coordination, behavioral health and primary care providers in a synergistic manner in utilizing their team-based care model.

The National Nurse-Led Care Consortium and School-Based Health Alliance have created a resource, “Addressing Diabetes Factors in Elementary School Children Through School and Community Partnerships.” Health centers can play a powerful role in performing appropriate screening, prevention and management of elementary-aged children with obesity and other pre-diabetic indicators by collaborating with schools and other community partners.

Axios reports that America is more racially diverse than at any point in history, and racial minorities are becoming more geographically dispersed than ever before. Nationally, Hispanics and Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial minority groups, increasing by 18.6% and 27.4%, respectively, between 2010 and 2018, according to an analysis by the Brookings Institution demographer Bill Frey, whose 2018 book “Diversity Explosion” outlined the country’s majority-minority future. Atlanta, Charlotte, Orlando, Dallas, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Seattle registered substantial growth in their black populations. The nation’s white population has grown only 0.1% since 2010 and is projected to decline over the next decade. Read more.

Keep up to date on the creation and rollout of Pennsylvania’s state-based health insurance exchange on the Department of Insurance’s State-Based Exchange webpage. Pennsylvania has been a federally facilitated marketplace or exchange since 2013. For the 2020 enrollment period, Pennsylvania has moved to a state-based exchange (SBE) using the federal platform (SBE-FP) and will fully transition to a SBE in 2021. For 2020, this will allow Pennsylvanians to continue to choose plans and enroll into the marketplace using Healthcare.gov, but the state is responsible for performing all marketplace functions for the individual market and the Small Business Health Insurance Options Program (SHOP).

Later in September, Pennsylvania will recognize “Stop Overdoses in PA: Get Help Now Week” by making free Naloxone available at 95 location across the state. The free Naloxone will be available on two days while supplies last: Wednesday, Sept. 18, from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm, and Wednesday, Sept. 25, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.  Click here for a list of the locations.  Other commonwealth opioid use disorder activities and progress:

• Through a standing order, Naloxone, used to reverse an overdose caused by an opioid by blocking the effects of opioids on the brain, is available to any Pennsylvanian through pharmacies across the commonwealth for anyone who may need it
• According to the state Department of Health, more than 25,000 people have been revived with Naloxone by police officers and EMS providers in Pennsylvania since November 2014
• In December 2018, the commonwealth distributed over 5,000 naloxone kits across Pennsylvania
• Gov. Wolf announced in August that opioid related overdose deaths have decreased by 18 percent over the past 12 months
• Gov. Wolf this week announced another renewal of the state opioid disaster declaration, the seventh one since he first made the declaration on Jan. 10, 2018