CPM Fall 2019 - 28

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LEGISLATIVE UPDATES
Features

QUARTERLY
LEGISLATIVE
UPDATES

he fall legislative schedule is lighter than usual with only about
6 session days scheduled for the House of Representatives and
a few less in the State Senate. Despite the limited number of
"legislative days," the agenda is robust. Among the issues that
will be debated before the legislature adjourns for the December holidays,
healthcare is sure to be front and center as proposals addressing CRNP
independent practice, opioids, Medical Assisted Treatment (MAT) for
opioid use disorder, prior authorization, out-of-network/surprise billing,
and health insurance credentialing are all on the potential short list.

CRNPs continue to push legislators to grant them the same autonomous
clinical authority as physicians. Senate Bill 25, having passed the Senate
for the second straight session, currently awaits consideration by the
House Professional Licensure Committee. House Bill 100, a companion
bill to Senate Bill 25 is on the same docket. PAMED has, over the past
several months, urged physicians to voice their concerns to lawmakers...
especially those who sit on this key committee. While PAMED recognizes
the valuable contributions CRNPs provide to health care teams, our policy
remains firm-CRNPs are not equipped to practice without the benefit
of a physician's immediate availability through a collaborative agreement.
CRNPs are aggressively lobbying legislators...physicians must do the same
if we are to preserve a collaborative system that is the model in 28 other
states across the country.

28 Fall 2019 Central PA Medicine

PAMED recently engaged Susquehanna Polling and Research,
Inc. to poll 3,300 Pennsylvanians to see how they felt about the
healthcare professionals that care for them. Some of the counties
polled included; Allegheny, Chester, Lackawanna, Lancaster,
and Potter. The results highlighted that 92% of those polled
are satisfied with the access they have to physicians and other
medical providers in their area. In another overwhelming majority, a combined 73% of those surveyed support collaborative
agreements between physicians and CRNPs, instead of allowing
CRNP's to practice independently.
PAMED, along with a number of other stakeholders, including
patient advocacy organizations, are seeking to reform the current
prior authorization process. Recently two bills have been introduced,
House Bill 1194 by Representative Steven Mentzer of Lancaster
County and Senate Bill 920 by Senator Kristin Phillips-Hill of
York County. These bills seek to improve patient care and relieve

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CPM Fall 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CPM Fall 2019