Washington Watch  

 

ACA: More Funding Required. US News & World Report (8/12) reports in its "Data Mine" blog that a paper published Tuesday by the Urban Institute "said the Affordable Care Act will not work as intended without another $559 billion over the next decade." In particular, the group "pointed to challenges in the law, including the difficulties people have in paying for their health coverage and the struggles states and the federal government will have in maintaining health care exchanges." In order to finance the proposed changes, the authors recommend increasing cigarette and alcohol taxes, increasing the Medicare payroll tax, and applying the Medicaid drug rebate to dual eligibles.

  

PA. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (8/11) reports that the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania recently "echoed worries from the American Hospital Association, the industry's largest lobbying group, which pressed regulators last week to scrutinize whether" the planned merger of Anthem and Cigna would increase healthcare costs and reduce competition across the country. Jeffrey Bechtel, a senior vice president at the organization, said in a statement that the mergers among "some of the country's largest national health insurers may create a domino effect, spurring additional health insurer consolidations, which could have a future negative impact on the Pennsylvania marketplace." 

PA. Cigna Corp. has decided to keep its Philadelphia office space in Two Liberty. The insurance company signed a 12-year lease on 322,000 square feet at the 16th and Chestnut streets tower, where it has made its home since 1990. Under the new agreement, Cigna reduces the amount of space it had occupied. It had been in 450,000 square feet. Under the new lease, Cigna will occupy 34 percent of the building through October 31, 2027. The deal ends speculation that has swirled around what the company was going to do with its office space in Philadelphia. (Philadelphia Business Journal, 8/14)

PA. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently announced that five new health center sites in Pennsylvania will receive $3.3 million in ACA funding. These new health center sites are projected to increase access to health care services for 42,797 patients. The following will receive funding: the City of Philadelphia, $541,639; Spectrum Health Services, Inc. of Philadelphia, $325,000; La Comunidad Hispania, Inc. of Kennett Square, $1,025,000; Sadler Health Center Corporation of Carlisle, $555,583; and Squirrel Hill Health Center of Pittsburgh, $858,333. The funding is part of $169 million for 266 community health center sites in 46 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico for the delivery of comprehensive primary health care services in communities that need them most. These new health center sites are projected to increase access to health care services for over 1.2 million patients. (Philadelphia Tribune, 8/14)