Central PA Medicine Spring 2021 - 27

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The new legislative session is gathering
some momentum as both the Senate and
House begin considering legislative proposals.
At present, most lawmakers are focusing
on COVID-19 vaccinations, budget related
matters, and possible election reforms.
As with any new legislative session, the
Pennsylvania Medical Society's (PAMED)
focus is on securing the reintroduction of
legislation that failed to get across the finish
line in the last session and working to educate
new lawmakers on our legislative priorities.
Chief among those priorities is the reintroduction
of prior authorization reform
proposals mentioned below. PAMED has
historically been the driving force on this
issue, but has welcomed the addition of a
number of patient advocacy organizations
into our coalition. Organizations seeking
prior authorization and step therapy reforms
now number near 40. Patient engagement
on this issue is critical.
We also continue to advocate for liability
protections related to physicians treating
COVID-19 patients. PAMED is part of a
broad coalition of statewide organizations
seeking protection from lawsuits stemming
from the pandemic.
A resolution on how best to address restrictive
covenants in physician employment
contracts is also being pursued. Rep. Toren
Ecker (R-Adams) plans to again reintroduce
legislation aimed at protecting patient access
to physicians otherwise barred from treating
them as a result of contractual agreements.
Although PAMED focuses its legislative
efforts on issues that have been identified
as priorities, we continue to advocate
for the passage of other legislative " fixes "
important to our members. Among those
issues are IMG licensing parity, disclosing
frivolous medical board complaints, and the
enactment of a statewide POLST program.
PAMED continues to oppose legislation
that seeks to expand the clinical practice of
non-physician health care providers, such
as the reintroduction of SB 25, legislation
that would give independent practice
authority to CRNPs.
These legislative issues require constant
monitoring and ultimately physician
engagement. It is critically important for
physicians to " engage " when called to do so.
Legislators who have received phone calls
from physicians on issues affecting medical
practice and patient care consistently
report the positive impact they have on
their decision making. Reaching out to
your representatives should not wait until
there's a legislative crisis. Reach out to
your local lawmakers now and get to know
them. Developing a relationship when you
don't have a specific " ask " is the key to a
lasting relationship. Physicians interested
in getting more involved in legislative and
political grassroots should call PAMED's
Governmental Affairs staff at 800-228-7823.
Prior Authorization Reform
(PAMED supports)
* House Bill 225 (Mentzer)/Senate Bill
225 (Phillips-Hill) - Prior authorization
reform bills. There is a large coalition
with multiple provider entities and patient
advocacy groups seeking to make wholesale
changes to the prior authorization process
in the Commonwealth. PAMED has played
an integral role in developing this legislation
and working to advance it. Though there
are reserved bill numbers, there has been no
legislative language introduced at this time.
International Medical
Graduates (IMG) Licensure
Parity
* House Bill 245 (Kaufer) - Rep. Kaufer
has reintroduced his effort to support IMGs
through this legislation, which seeks to
modernize the process by which graduates
of international medical schools become
licensed. Similar legislation passed the
House last session, but stalled in the Senate.
CRNPs
* Senate Bill 25 (Bartolotta) - PAMED
has long opposed these efforts, but last
session agreed to listen/negotiate a pilot
program where CRNPs would be granted
independent practice with specific guidelines
and restrictions. As this effort did not
come to fruition, stakeholders are working
to determine what legislative action, if any,
would look like given the outcome of the
previous session.
Out-of-Network
Balance Billing
* HCO 128 (Rapp) - Co-sponsor memorandum
to advance legislation that would
protect consumers from surprise balance
bills from medical providers. PAMED has
played a lead role in this effort to advance
fair legislation dealing with balance billing.
Given the recent passage of the Federal
legislation on this topic, No Surprises Act,
comprehensive protection to consumers was
provided. At this time, we are asking the
General Assembly to defer consideration
of state level legislation pending the full
implementation of the new Federal law.
There still may be need for state level legislation
in the future, but we won't know
until the Federal law is fully in place.
Restrictive Covenants
(PAMED supports)
* House Bill 681 (Ecker) - Recently,
Representative Ecker reintroduced legislation
that aims to prevent the use of non-compete
agreements in health care practitioners'
employment contracts. PAMED is in the
process of developing legislative language,
in consultation with Rep. Ecker, to amend
HB 681 with language that would better
protect physicians employed by hospitals
and health systems while at the same time
not disenfranchising physicians who own
independent practices. It is important that
any proposal addressing this issue takes into
account the concerns of all PAMED members.
Liability Protection
(PAMED supports)
* Senate Bill 273 (Baker) - COVID-19
liability protection effort; providing for
limited, temporary, and targeted COVID19-related
liability protections for health
care workers engaged in the care and
management of patients with or suspected
of having COVID-19. SB 273 seeks to
address the disparity between independently
practicing physicians with those associated
with hospitals.
Continued on page 28
Central PA Medicine Spring 2021 27
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