HAP's Latest News

The outcome of this year’s election will be critical to those who work in health care because those who are elected will make important decisions that affect health care as well as Pennsylvania’s hospitals. HAP is supporting the American Hospital Association’s “We Care, We Vote” campaign and is encouraging hospital employees to register to vote and to vote on November 3.

According to a recent report from The Commonwealth Fund, insurance coverage gains associated with the Affordable Care Act have stalled or eroded in most of the states between 2016 and 2018 after improving in all states between 2014 and 2016. 

A new analysis released today shows the COVID-19 public health crisis will leave lasting scars on Pennsylvania and its hospital community. The report is a follow-up to an April analysis commissioned by The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvanian and conducted by Health Management Associates.

Across the U.S., as the COVID-19 pandemic increases the health concerns and economic struggles of many American families, new studies continue to magnify the fact that certain Americans are being disproportionately affected by the pandemic’s devastation. Americans of color—Black, American Indian, Alaska Native Americans, and Latinx—are facing more COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths than White Americans.

Last week, the Commonwealth Fund released the results of its Biennial Health Insurance Survey, 2020, and highlighted the “persistent vulnerability” in health insurance coverage, foreshadowing an even bigger crisis in coverage: as U.S. job losses resulting from the pandemic continue to increase, many more Americans also will lose their employer-based health insurance.

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the recipients of more than $35 million aimed at increasing access to high-quality health care in rural communities. Through the Health Resources and Services Administration, these awards went to more than 50 organizations across 33 states including Pennsylvania.

The American Hospital Association (AHA) has released a new fact sheet to support its national effort to urge Congress and the Administration to ensure telehealth flexibilities remain in place after the COVID-19 public health emergency ends and to reimburse virtual services on par with in-person care.

On July 20, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a bulletin, Civil Rights Protections Prohibiting  Race, Color and National Origin Discrimination During COVID‐19, aimed at helping to ensure Title VI compliance during the COVID‐19 public health emergency.

A new report from the Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center estimates that, nationwide, by December 2020, more than 10 million people no longer will have employer-sponsored health coverage due to job losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) awarded the Morehouse School of Medicine as the recipient of a new $40 million initiative to fight COVID-19 in racial and ethnic minority, rural, and socially vulnerable communities.