July 12, 2021 Report: Telehealth Use Remains 38 Times Higher Than Before the Pandemic The use of telehealth remains about 38 times above pre-pandemic levels, representing between 13 and 17 percent of all office and outpatient services across specialties, according to a new report released last week.
July 01, 2021 Governor Wolf Signs Two HAP-supported Health Care Bills; Vetoes Bill Banning Proof of Vaccine Requirements in Government Facilities This week, Governor Wolf signed two key proposals to support the health care community, while vetoing a measure that would have banned proof of vaccine requirements in state facilities and other public health mitigation orders.
June 29, 2021 Kaufman Hall Report Offers National Snapshot of Hospital Recovery Hospitals across the nation are showing some signs of recovery compared to the challenging early months of 2020, but they still have a long way to go to reach their pre-pandemic levels, according...
June 26, 2021 News Release: State Budget Includes Key HAP Advocacy Items But Leaves Out PA Heroes Act Harrisburg, PA – The General Assembly today passed the state’s $39.78 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2021–2022 budget, and the Governor is expected to sign the budget legislation. Included in the budget were some of The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania’s (HAP) key advocacy items, but it left out the Health Care Heroes and Public Health Preparedness Act (“PA Heroes Act”).
June 25, 2021 Legislators on Track to Finalize State Budget by Weekend The Pennsylvania General Assembly today advanced a nearly $40 billion budget proposal for 2021–2022 that leaves about $5 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funding unspent and sets aside another $2.5 billion to ward off future tax increases, state lawmakers said today.
June 24, 2021 PA Lawmakers Send Two HAP-supported Health Care Proposals to Governor’s Desk; a Third Bill Opposed by HAP Will Draw Governor’s Veto Today, Pennsylvania lawmakers approved proposals to clarify how providers obtain informed consent from patients and allow the state to join 34 others in the Nurse Licensure Compact. After introduction in previous sessions and numerous stakeholder negotiations, the two health care priorities are anticipated to be signed by the Governor.
June 23, 2021 PA Lawmakers Discuss Nurse Licensure Compact, Advance Key Health Proposals Pennsylvania lawmakers today considered several important proposals related to joining the nurse licensure compact, prior authorization, telehealth, and clarifying the process for how patients receive their test results.
June 22, 2021 HAP Tells Lawmakers: Don’t Leave Hospitals and Health Care Heroes Behind As budget week commences, HAP and Pennsylvania hospitals have made a final request to the General Assembly: please support us, our health care heroes, and our future public health efforts by passing the PA Heroes Act.
June 18, 2021 Report Shows Need to Invest Funding in Public Health Infrastructure A recent report published by Trust for America’s Health outlines the stark need for increased funding to public health infrastructure and the workforce.
June 14, 2021 Bill Banning Required Proof of Vaccination Leaves House Committee Senate Bill 618, which would ban requiring proof of vaccination for use of state and local government facilities, and including any institution of higher education receiving state funding, came out of the state House Health Committee on a party-line vote.