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News You Can Use
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| Turn Those Clocks Back This Weekend |
| Daylight saving time will end at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 4, and Pennsylvania residents will be turning their clocks back one hour before going to bed on Saturday night. Experts recommend using this reminder to check or change the batteries in smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms. Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms should be replaced every 10 years, and located near bedrooms and on each level of the residence. |
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| Health Insurance Open Enrollment Begins |
Consumers who are looking to change health care insurance coverage or to obtain their own policies for the first time have several resources available to help them navigate this often-confusing process. The open enrollment process began Nov. 1 and runs through Dec. 15.
Even if a consumer is currently enrolled in a plan he or she likes, options change every year. In many counties, new options are available that may be an even better fit. It’s important to note also that new options can change the financial assistance available. That’s why it is critical for those consumers who rely on the exchange for coverage to explore their options this and every year.
Information on the various plans available in Pennsylvania and where to seek enrollment assistance are available at www.insurance.pa.gov. Consumers may also visit Consumers’ Checkbook at https://pa.checkbookhealth.org
to view plan options, estimate monthly premiums and total annual out-of-pocket costs for each plan, and learn how to buy a plan.
The Insurance Department, in partnership with other state agencies, consumer advocacy organizations, insurers, hospitals, libraries and academia, also created a series of short videos on “Health Insurance Literacy” detailing the important aspects of buying and using health insurance.
For 2019, six insurers in Pennsylvania are offering Marketplace plans: Ambetter (Centene), which is new to the Pennsylvania market; Capital BlueCross; Geisinger Health Plan; Highmark; Independence Blue Cross; and UPMC. Many networks have expanded and are offering enhanced benefits such as wellness programs and telehealth services to counteract increases in deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums. All consumers re-enrolling in coverage are encouraged to review and update their income and demographic information on their Marketplace application.
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Local School Districts to Receive Safety Grants
To help fund school safety improvements, the three school districts serving residents within the 143rd Legislative District each will receive $25,000. School districts receiving the grant include Central Bucks, Palisades and Pennridge.
When we created this grant program earlier this year, we wanted school districts to be able to use the money to meet their specific and unique needs. Some school districts may need training, whereas others could use additional personnel or equipment. I realize $25,000 won’t meet all of their needs, but it is a start. Children cannot learn effectively if they don’t feel safe, and that’s why these grants are so important.
Eligible uses for the grants include hiring school security officers, purchasing security-related technology, completing safety and security assessments, implementing violence prevention curricula, offering counseling services for students, and creating other programs to protect students.
I am hopeful that her legislation to make telemedicine more accessible within the behavioral health field will help schools to better connect to student counseling services.
Fighting Opioid Abuse
A new law that requires opioids to be prescribed electronically will bring consistency in the way prescriptions are filled and will also prevent the fraudulent use of prescription pads to fuel the opioid crisis.
At one time, written prescriptions were the safest form of prescribing opioids, which state law required. Since that time and the rise of the opioid epidemic, providers’ prescription pads have been stolen, leading to fraudulent use and driving fake prescriptions for the addictive drug.
Act 96 of 2018 (formerly House Bill 353) will make it more difficult to have fake prescriptions filled, while also making it more convenient for patients who have a legitimate need for the medication. Currently, most all medications are prescribed electronically.
Another benefit of e-prescribing is that the tracking of the prescription can go directly to the state’s prescription drug monitoring database to help ensure only those who have a legitimate medical need for these prescriptions can access them.
Assistance for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Now Law
Two new laws signed by the governor will assist grandparents raising their grandchildren and help them better access both private and public resources.
House Bill 2133, now Act 89 of 2018, will establish the Kinship Caregiver Navigator Program, an informational resource for these grandparents that will operate both as a website and a toll-free hotline. The website will offer information on support and services available, and a specially trained navigator through the hotline will be able to provide support and guidance to kinship caregivers, and serve as a mediator to establish relationships between kinship caregivers and relevant federal, state and local agency staff.
The cost to state taxpayers will be greatly reduced, as the Commonwealth just received $479,307 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families to develop the program.
Another measure to help grandchildren, House Bill 1539, now Act 88 of 2018, will allow grandparents to have temporary guardianship when the parents of the grandchildren are unable to care for them primarily due to substance abuse issues.
An estimated 82,000 grandparents are the sole caregivers for the nearly 89,000 grandchildren in Pennsylvania.
Governor’s Vetoes Perplex Lawmakers
The governor’s decision to veto important cost-saving and education measures last week has perplexed lawmakers. The bills would have dramatically reduced the state’s debt (House Bill 83), required the Department of Human Services to institute work requirements for Medical Assistance recipients (House Bill 2138), and expanded career and technical education (CTE) opportunities for students across Pennsylvania (House Bill 2157).
Specifically, both House Bill 83 and House Bill 2157 passed with overwhelming bipartisan majorities in both the House and Senate. House Bill 83 could have reduced outstanding general obligation debt by $1 billion over 20 years, and House Bill 2157 would have made it easier for schools to establish and renew vocational programs.
This is the second time that Gov. Tom Wolf has vetoed work requirements for able-bodied individuals on Medical Assistance, even though work requirements are in place for food stamp assistance.
All three bills are expected to be reintroduced in the new 2019-20 legislative session.
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| Office Locations |
| 1032 N. Easton Rd, Doylestown, PA 18902-1055 | Phone: (215) 489-2126 |
| 141 East Wing, PO Box 202143, Harrisburg PA 17120-2143 | Phone: (717) 772-1413 |
| Email: mquinn@pahousegop.com |
| TTY: 855-282-0614 |
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