A bill to level the playing field for international medical graduates (IMGs) relative to medical licensure won committee approval in the Pa. House of Representatives on March 15, 2021.

Legislation introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives would allow professional licensees to find out if an action is permissible by their state board before doing the action.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights previously issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that if finalized would modify several key portions of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. The comment period was recently extended until May 6, 2021.

These are the regulatory agenda items relevant to Pennsylvania physicians.

On March 9, 2021, PAMED EVP Martin Raniowski spoke with Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam to discuss physicians' COVID-19 vaccination questions and concerns. Members can watch the recording and get CME.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has revised the repayment terms of its Advanced Payment Program (APP). Previously, repayment was set to begin 120 days after the advance payment was issued to the provider. Repayments will now begin one year after the advance payment was issued to the provider, which could be as early as April 2021.

Earn Category 1 and patient safety/risk management credits as you critique resident and student research and help junior physicians to improve their communication and presentation skills

Federal appeals court dismisses lawsuit by physicians against ABIM challenging MOC process. ABIM’s MOC program remains unaffected and current MOC requirements remain in effect.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) has issued proposed permanent regulations to replace their existing temporary regulations regarding medical marijuana. On April 1, 2021, PAMED submitted a letter providing comments and seeking clarifications regarding the proposed regulations

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) recently sent out an alert that a large buprenorphine-providing practice abruptly closed its clinics, including two in Philadelphia, leaving hundreds of patients without a care plan or handoff to a new provider.

Senator Lisa Baker has introduced COVID-19 liability protection legislation, which PAMED strongly supports. The liability protection provisions of SB 273 provide for limited, temporary, and targeted COVID-19-related liability protections for health care workers engaged in the care and management of patients with or suspected of having COVID-19.

On Feb. 25, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it will hold physicians harmless from up to nine percent MIPS penalties due to the significant disruptions of the COVID-19 public health emergency on physician practices’ performance in 2020.

On Feb. 22, 2021, the Pennsylvania Superior Court issued a decision in the case of Dockery v. Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, Inc., et al. upholding the trial court’s order to transfer a medical professional liability case out of Philadelphia County and thereby also upholding the existing venue rule and statute for medical professional liability actions.

PAMED is thrilled to team up with its Care Centered Collaborative and Highmark to make nearly $4 million in PAMED Community Care Grants available to physicians (who work in the community and are not affiliated with a health care system or hospital) to support services and projects designed to improve health care and make health care more accessible.

Get details on the statutory and regulatory suspensions that will be in effect for the duration of the current COVID-19 emergency. ​

On Feb. 12, 2021, Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam issued a new Order re: vaccine distribution. On Feb. 17, PAMED sent a letter to Acting Secretary Beam asking for clarification on behalf of our members.

Per the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services adopted the American Medical Association CPT® framework for Evaluation and Management (E/M) code level selection for Office and Outpatient visits beginning Jan. 1, 2021. PAMED created this reference sheet for members to simplify the code lookup process.

On February 10, 2021, Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill and Rep. Steven Mentzer announced the introduction of legislation that would reform the onerous prior authorization and step therapy (fail first) processes that are delaying appropriate patient care and increasingly undermining longstanding decisions made between physicians and their patients for the betterment of patient health care.

Reporting is required for any provider that received more than $10,000 in total funds. Here is the reporting timeline.

On Feb. 5, 2021, the Pennsylvania Department of State and Gov. Wolf issued regulatory waivers enabling certain retired physicians and medical students to assist with COVID-19 vaccination efforts. PAMED continued to advocate for its members and sought clarification, which we received on Feb. 12, regarding the waiver relative to retired physicians, including whether they apply to only retired physicians or also to physicians who hold an active-retired license and whether medical malpractice insurance is required.