During June 2009, 12 Pennsylvania hospitals representing 21 ICU units volunteered to participate in the Comprehensive Unit Based Safety Program (CUSP) to reduce central line-associated bloodstream infections in the ICU. During October 2009, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded $17 million to fund projects focused on the reduction of health care-associated infections (HAI). With this additional funding, the AHA’s Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET) will be working with HAP staff to engage more Pennsylvania hospitals in the project, which will expand the “On the CUSP: Stop BSI” project to all 50 states. Using the CUSP model, other areas of infection—such as urinary tract infections (UTI) and units such as medical/surgical units—will be able to participate in this first national project to reduce HAIs. HRET expects the next phase of CUSP to begin sometime during late spring or early summer. HAP will provide more information about how other Pennsylvania hospitals can become involved in this national project.

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue reported that the state collected $2.1 billion in revenue during January, which is $120.2 million less than anticipated. Fiscal year-to-date revenues are $374.4 million, or 2.5 percent, below estimate. This announcement precedes the Governor’s budget proposal that will be released on February 9. HAP anticipates that the state budget proposal will incorporate $850 million in funding that Pennsylvania could receive through an extension of the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), and that the budget will not include any broad-based tax proposals. Given the continued decline in state revenues, HAP anticipates that the budget proposal will call for various spending reductions across many state agencies and programs.

Growth in national health expenditures in the U.S. is expected to have increased faster than the growth in the gross domestic product last year, according to a report issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Spending growth in three of the major health care sectors is expected to have accelerated during 2009. Hospital spending growth is expected to have increased 5.9 percent during 2009, up from 4.5 percent during 2008, and reached $760.6 billion. Physician and clinical services spending growth is expected to have increased 6.3 percent during 2009, up from 5.0 percent during 2008, and reached $527.6 billion. The 2009 accelerations in spending growth for hospital services and physician and clinical services were in part driven by higher Medicaid spending growth and increased demand for services associated with treating persons who contracted the H1N1 virus.