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What the COVID-19 Relief Package Means for Health and Health Care

Mar 12, 2021

The $1.9 trillion measure cleared by Congress includes funding for testing and vaccine initiatives and aims to expand the reach of the Affordable Care Act. THE $1.9 TRILLION COVID-19 relief package cleared by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden will provide Americans with $1,400 stimulus payments but also includes a raft of health- and health care-related provisions. The package, dubbed...

US Lawmakers Approve $900 Billion Coronavirus Aid Package

Jan 12, 2021

Problem Solvers Caucus co-chairs Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., at podium, and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., right, speak to the media with members of their caucus about the expected passage of the emergency COVID-19 relief bill, Monday, Dec. 21, 2020, on… The U.S. Congress has passed a massive year-end bill that includes a $900 billion coronavirus aid package and $1.4 trillion...

HHS Releases $20B More in CARES Act Relief, But Warns: Don’t Wait to Apply

Oct 02, 2020

The federal government on Thursday announced an additional tranche of $20 billion in coronavirus relief funding for a wide swath of health care providers, with the caveat that interested parties should apply as soon as possible. Starting October 5, the Department of Health and Human Services will begin accepting applications for the Phase 3 General Distribution of COVID-19 relief, specifically targeting the following types of...

Trump to sign executive orders protecting preexisting conditions and seeking a way to prevent surprise medical bills

Sep 28, 2020

President Donald Trump will sign a series of executive orders aimed at protecting people with preexisting conditions and look for a way to prevent surprise medical bills, senior administration officials said Thursday. Trump discussed the executive orders, which are part of his “America First” health-care plan, during his visit to Charlotte, North Carolina later in the day. Health and Human Services...

Q&A: ACA Architect Predicts The Future Of Healthcare

Sep 10, 2020

Dr. Jonathan Gruber is the Ford Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Director of the Healthcare Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Highly involved in healthcare public policy, he was a key architect of Massachusetts’ health reform efforts, “Romneycare” from 2003 to 2006. As a technical consultant to the Obama Administration from 2009 to 2010, he helped develop the...

Government announces distribution of $2.5B to nursing homes for COVID-19 relief funding

Sep 09, 2020

The Trump administration, through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), recently announced it has distributed almost $2.5 billion of a planned $5 billion distribution to nursing homes to support increased testing, staffing and personal protective equipment (PPE) needs. This includes $135,903,600 to 951 facilities in Ohio. This funding allocation was made through the Health Resources and Services Administration...

Embrace the growth of nurse practitioners to improve care

Aug 26, 2020

Primary care is the foundation of successful health care. It improves health outcomes and quality of life while increasing efficiency and lowering overall costs. The primary care workforce is changing rapidly, with more and more Pennsylvanians receiving primary care services from nurse practitioners (NPs). This is especially true in southwestern Pennsylvania. In 2015, the Joint State Government Commission warned that Pennsylvania faced a...

Nurse Practitioners Say Expanded Scope of Practice Key for COVID-19

Aug 19, 2020

August 18, 2020 - Relaxed scope of practice restrictions and models enabling expanded telehealth use have been instrumental in helping nurse practitioners meet patient access to care needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new survey from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. The outbreak of the novel coronavirus put a lot of pressure on the healthcare industry, namely in ensuring every...

RI Lawmakers Call For Increased Staffing, Pay In Nursing Homes

Jun 19, 2020

PROVIDENCE, RI — Several Rhode Island lawmakers and members of the health care industry are calling for changes in the state's nursing homes. The Nursing Home Staffing and Quality Care Act would create minimum standards for staffing and patient care hours. According to Adanjesus Marin, an activist with Raise The Bar, said Rhode Island ranks 42nd in the country in terms of the hours of care nursing homes residents receive and is...

A Health Care Way Forward

May 29, 2020

Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 and its activation in 2014, there has been a huge amount of debate about what form our health protection system should take. (I am deliberately avoiding the word health insurance.) For many, the answer has been very plain and simple: Do away with insurance companies’ involvement in providing protection for people’s health care needs, and have the “government”...

Employment Law Changes For 2020: What American Workers Need To Know

Dec 31, 2019

While American workers ring in the new year by toasting champagne and making resolutions, their employers will be scrambling to ensure that they’re in compliance with the more than two dozen federal and state laws set to go into effect on January 1, 2020. Here are some of the most noteworthy. Fair Labor Standards Act Overtime Provisions By raising the standard salary level from $455 to $684 a week, this rule...

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