PAMED NEWS

The Acting Commissioner of Professional and Occupational Affairs (Commissioner) amends § 43b.201 (relating to fees for services) and adds Subchapter E (relating to consideration of criminal convictions).

The Insurance Department Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error Fund (MCARE) notification.

The Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) received regulation #16A-4962 on Opioid Treatment Programs.

The PA Department of Health (DOH) is concerned about an increase in detection of Enterovirus which may also result in increases in AFM.

The PA Office of Auditor General (Auditor General) recently completed a performance audit of the Physical HealthChoices (HealthChoices) Medicaid program administered by the Department of Human Services (DHS).

A settlement has been announced in a long-running antitrust federal lawsuit involving all Blue Cross and Blue Shield organizations in the United States.

The Department of Justice (Department) issued a final rule revising the regulation implementing title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The Department of Human Services (Department) proposes to amend Chapters 1187 and 1189 (relating to nursing facility services; and county nursing facility services) to update a data element in the Department's case-mix payment system for nonpublic and county nursing facilities to utilize the patient driven payment model (PDPM) in place of the Resource Utilization Groups, Version III (RUG-III) classification system in setting Medical Assistance (MA) payment rates for nursing facilities.

The WIC State Advisory Board (Board) gives notice that the next regular meeting of the Board will be held on October 22, 2024, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted marketing authorization for the Healgen Rapid Check COVID-19/Flu A&B Antigen Test. The test, authorized for use without a prescription, is for use by individuals experiencing respiratory symptoms and uses a nasal swab sample to deliver at-home results in approximately 15 minutes for COVID-19 and influenza (flu). The test detects proteins from both SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) and influenza A and B (the viruses that causes flu).

The Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) was notified by the New Jersey Department of Health about a confirmed measles case who had visited two health care facilities and several public places in New Jersey with possible exposure among Pennsylvania residents.

Emergency department visits for pneumonia have been increasing, particularly among children and young adults. Some hospitals and college student health centers have reported clusters of cases of pneumonia due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae.

Several members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives have announced that they have crafted a package of bills aimed at securing important reforms intended to curb the ongoing problem of civil lawsuit abuse.

The Department of Human Services (Department) is announcing a proposed adjustment to the managed care assessment fixed fee effective January 1, 2025.

Maintaining accurate and current information on providers is essential for effectively analyzing, designing, and designating areas with health care workforce shortages across Pennsylvania.

The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury released the final rule to amend certain provisions of the existing Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) regulations and add new regulations to set forth content requirements and timeframes for responding to requests for nonquantitative treatment limitation (NQTL) comparative analyses.

On October 3, 2024 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Update to provide additional information about the first confirmed Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) outbreak in the Republic of Rwanda. No confirmed cases have been reported in the United States (U.S.).

As we enter the 2024-2025 respiratory virus season, the Pennsylvania Department of Health urges all health care providers and facilities to take proactive measures to mitigate the impact of respiratory infections including influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and COVID-19.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) has received adequate supplies of Benzathine Penicillin G (Bicillin L-A®) and is now lifting the restrictions for the administration of Bicillin L-A® for individuals who are diagnosed with or suspected of having syphilis. Read more.

Growing up in a medical family, Mona Syeda Masood, DO, always knew she would become a physician.