York County Medicine Summer 2019 - 34

YO R K C O M E D S O C . O R G

Quarterly Legislative Update
Continued from page 33

* On March 22, 2019, PAMED met with the LBFC. PAMED
shared our comments that were submitted to the Court's
committee and offered our help with its study. PAMED also
plans to testify at an upcoming LBFC hearing.

Prior Authorization Reform
Background
* PAMED is seeking a legislative fix to the prior authorization
process to address patient care issues, such as delays in needed
treatment. Our efforts are supported by a coalition of more than
50 patient and medical advocacy groups and is recognized as
a national issue by the American Medical Association (AMA).

Current Status
* Lobbyists for physician stakeholders met in February 2019 to
outline a plan for bill introduction, discuss bill language, and
strategize a plan for the 2019-2020 legislative session.

Next Steps
* The stakeholder group will identify a bill sponsor that will
lead to the circulation of a co-sponsorship memo and the bill's
introduction within the Pa. House of Representatives.

Current Status
* In a letter sent to members of the Pa. Senate Consumer
Protection and Professional Licensure Committee on March
25, 2019, PAMED expressed our strong opposition to SB 25,
which passed out of committee on March 27, 2019. Senators
Mike Regan and John Gordner opposed this bill. If you are in
their district, please thank them for their support. You can read
the letter PAMED sent to the Senate committee here. https://
www.pamedsoc.org/docs/librariesprovider2/pamed-documents/
sb-25-ltr_senate-consumer-protection-professional-licensurecommittee_3-25-19.pdf?sfvrsn=753f63c5_2
* In a letter sent to Pa. House members on Feb. 11, 2019,
PAMED expressed our strong opposition to Rep. Jesse
Topper's proposal (HCO 854) . The Pennsylvania Chapter of
the American Academy of Pediatrics, Pennsylvania Chapter of
the American College of Physicians, Pennsylvania Academy
of Family Physicians, and Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical
Association signed on to our letter and joined PAMED in
opposing this effort.

York County Medicine | SUMMER 2019

Next Steps
* The Senate will return to session on April 8, 2019. It is
uncertain when the Senate will consider SB 25.
* We encourage physicians to reach out to their legislators to
meet with them on this issue and educate them as to why this is
a bad idea for patient care in Pennsylvania. Get your legislators'
contact information here. http://cqrcengage.com/pamed/
Lookup?0
* The PAMED government relations team continues to educate
legislators and the public regarding our concerns with this
legislation.
* PAMED is exploring the idea of hosting a stakeholders meeting
in the near future at our office in Harrisburg to discuss our
collective strategy related to scope of practice issues. Physician
leadership of county and specialty medical societies will be
invited to attend should it come to fruition.

Narrow Networks/Any Willing
Provider/Out-of-Network Balance
Billing
Background
* PAMED believes that patient protections from "surprise"
and other out-of-network health care billings should begin by
addressing the root cause of the problem - tiered and narrow
health insurance provider networks as well as a lack of insurance
product transparency.
* An informational meeting took place on Feb. 5, 2019, within
the Pa. House Insurance Committee. The Pennsylvania College
of Emergency Physicians and the Pennsylvania Society of
Anesthesiologists submitted testimony.

Current Status
* PAMED continues to participate in monthly Provider Coalition
meetings to advance legislation and strengthen communications
between stakeholders.

Next Steps
* There have been many changes in insurance coverage and
health delivery over the past 20 years. The Provider Coalition
strongly encourages the Pa. House Insurance Committee to
hold a future hearing on network adequacy requirements and
potential updates to the law.

http://www.YORKCOMEDSOC.ORG

York County Medicine Summer 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of York County Medicine Summer 2019