February 17, 2020 HAP Testimony Outlines Goals, Progress of Opioid Learning Action Network During a recent hearing of the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee, HAP provided testimony about HAP’s Opioid Learning Action Network, a two-year learning collaborative designed to help hospitals break down siloes, share information, and build understanding to end the opioid crisis in the commonwealth.
February 14, 2020 Ransomware Attacks on U.S. Health Care Organizations Estimated to Cost More than $157 Million Researchers from comparitech reviewed ransomware attacks affecting health care organizations since 2016 and found that some 172 ransomware attacks have cost health care organizations in the U.S. more than $157 million.
February 14, 2020 February 14 is National Donor Day; PA Hospitals Encourage Organ Donation February 14 has been designated as National Donor Day—a day to increase awareness about organ donation and the lives that can be saved. Ninety-five percent of U.S. adults support organ donation, but only 58 percent are registered organ donors. Pennsylvania hospitals are working to change that through participation National Donor Day and the 2020 Pennsylvania Donate Life Hospital Challenge.
February 13, 2020 First Evidence-Based Guidelines for Pediatric Patients with Sepsis Issued The international Surviving Sepsis Campaign has issued the first evidence-based guidelines targeted for pediatric sepsis. Sepsis affects more than 75,000 children per year in the United States and results in significant morbidity and mortality. Recognizing which children require sepsis treatment remains a key challenge.
February 13, 2020 Hospital-Supported Legislation Advances to Protect Patients from Surprise Medical Bills The hospital community expressed support for new legislation that earned bipartisan support in the U.S. House Ways & Means Committee, which is designed to protect patients from surprise medical bills and offer information to patients about their benefits.
February 12, 2020 PA’s Childhood Obesity Rates Higher than U.S. Average; Lower for WIC Toddlers A Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s project “State of Childhood Obesity: Helping All Children Grow up Healthy,” which enables users to explore data and policy recommendations related to childhood obesity prevention and treatment across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, has released its first annual report.
February 12, 2020 Stakeholders Outline Concerns with Medicaid Proposal What if a hospital were suddenly told its Medicaid reimbursements would be cut next year by 25 percent? A recently proposed federal regulation may just do that. This same rule could result in cuts to benefits for 2.8 million Pennsylvanians who rely on Medicaid, including children, the elderly and individuals with disabilities.
February 11, 2020 Trump Budget Calls for Medicare and Medicaid Cuts; Prioritizes Drug Pricing, Opioid Efforts, and Maternal Health Resources The Trump Administration laid out funding and policy priorities in the federal fiscal year (FY) 2021 budget request, proposing half a trillion dollars in cuts to Medicare and more than $900 billion in reductions to Medicaid over the next decade while dedicating additional resources to key public health initiatives targeting the opioid epidemic and maternal health.
February 10, 2020 Insurance Department to Introduce Regulations to Support Coverage for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Governor Tom Wolf recently announced that the Pennsylvania Insurance Department will introduce regulations to protect individuals’ mental health and substance use disorder rights, building on efforts to enforce equal standards of coverage between physical and mental health and substance use services.
February 07, 2020 HAP Holds Coronavirus Preparedness Webinar While there are no confirmed cases of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Pennsylvania at this time, attention around the spread of the virus continues to build.