January 16, 2020 Research Brief Explores ACA Impact on Racial, Ethnic Access to Care According to an issue brief issued by the Commonwealth Fund, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) not only narrowed racial and ethnic disparities in insurance coverage, but also has reduced racial disparities in access to health care.
January 15, 2020 Federal Attention Building to Address Social Determinants of Health Urgency is building in Washington, DC, to advance policy to improve coordination in addressing social determinants of health, recognizing that factors such as stable housing, reliable transportation, and access to healthy foods have a direct impact on health and wellness.
January 14, 2020 Duplicative State False Claims Act Could be Counterproductive to Patients, Hospitals On Monday, the Pennsylvania Attorney General was joined by legislators to outline measures which they believe will curb fraud within Pennsylvania’s Medical Assistance program, Medicaid. While a package of legislation was proposed, the focus of Monday’s announcement was legislation implementing a State False Claims Act in addition to the existing Federal False Claims Act. HAP believes the current federal law is effective and implementing a state false claims is duplicative, unnecessary, and, in some cases, harmful to patient access to care.
January 13, 2020 National Health Care Employment Rose by 399,000 during 2019; Hospitals Continue to Drive Economy According to the latest data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), health care employment rose by 399,000 during 2019, following an increase of 350,000 in 2018. These data demonstrate that hospitals continue their role as key economic engines across the nation as well as in Pennsylvania.
January 10, 2020 Flu Season Enters Peak, Still Time to Get Vaccinated As flu season intensifies across the commonwealth, state officials encouraged all Pennsylvanians to get their flu shot. Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine this week announced that as of December 28, 2019, more than 17,000 confirmed cases of the flu and nine flu-related deaths.