State Legislative Priorities

Rural Health

HAP partnered with the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health for the Rural Health Care Transformation Summit in State College during October, 2023. Rural hospital leaders heard important updates on legislative and regulatory policy and discussed challenges facing rural providers such as the workforce emergency and financial strain.

HAP President and CEO Nicole Stallings kicked off the session recognizing the vital role that rural hospitals play in their communities and attendees heard from HAP staff on topics such as policy updates, price transparency, and legislative advocacy.
 

Workforce

HAP has a mission to empower Pennsylvania’s hospitals and health systems to be the leading advocates for improving health in their communities. To be able to do that, hospitals and health systems need to have a strong workforce. With the guidance of HAP’s Health Care Talent Task Force, HAP supports initiatives to:

• Allow health care practitioners to practice at the top of their license
• Remove barriers to harness the workforce of the entire nation
• Study supply/demand data to inform policy decisions
• Improve the legal environment
• Promote diversity and inclusion

Behavioral Health

Pennsylvania’s hospital community recognizes the important connection between a patient’s behavioral health and physical health. That is why HAP supports policy changes that make sure patients suffering from behavioral health or substance use issues have access to the appropriate care, at the appropriate time.

From reducing the number of behavioral health holds in a hospital’s emergency department to looking at the overall funding and structure of the behavioral health network, HAP is working on policies to improve the overall health of every patient.
 

Maternal Health

During 2023 and 2024: 

• HAP’s Board of Directors identified maternal health as a priority area of focus for quality improvement efforts and public policy.
• HAP has created a member Taskforce on Maternal and Infant Health, to guide initiatives that support hospitals in providing high-quality care and eliminating racial disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes.
• On HAP's HealthyMePA platform, a public awareness campaign was launched to help educate Pennsylvanians about the maternal care crisis and increase public support to protect access to high-quality infant and maternal health care.

Hospital Sustainability

Hospitals are vital to our communities. In addition to providing life-saving medical care, they employ staff and pay above-average wages, build infrastructure, and purchase equipment and supplies--all things that contribute to local economies. 

But hospitals are in crisis. Continued financial losses put hospitals at risk of having to reduce services, forgo plans to serve their communities in new ways and, in extreme cases, close facilities. It is essential to eliminate outdated regulatory requirements that do not assure patient safety, align medical assistance payments with the actual cost of care, and reform Pennsylvania’s medical liability climate.

HAP Contacts

For more information, contact Stephanie Watkins, senior vice president, advocacy & policy. Media inquiries should be directed to Kim Yakowski, manager, media relations.

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