HAP Year in Review: The Biggest Stories from 2022

December 30, 2022

In our last publication of the year, HAP is highlighting the stories that made headlines during 2022.

This year saw plenty of new COVID-19 developments, but we saw several other important topics come to the forefront as well, including a growing focus on health care cybersecurity, the behavioral health crisis, hospitals’ financial strain, and the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Here’s a look some of the biggest stories in HAP Daily this year:

• Story:  PA Lawmakers Approve $225M to Support Health Care Workforce
  • Date:  January 26
  • Summary:  Pennsylvania lawmakers give final approval to a $225 million relief package to support the commonwealth’s health care workforce
• Story:  Rising Health Care Cybersecurity Concerns amid Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
  • Date:  February 24
  • Summary:  The U.S. government advises the health care community to be on alert for potential cybersecurity threats amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

• Story:  HAP Urges DHS to Support Medicaid Access to Care
  • Date:  March 24
  • Summary:  A proposed change to Pennsylvania’s Physical Health Medicaid Managed Care program, known as HealthChoices, could limit access to health care for tens of thousands of working families, mothers, children, and people with chronic health conditions.

• Story: FDA ‘Doing Everything in our Power’ to Address Infant Formula Shortage
  • Date:  May 12
  • Summary:  The nation continues to grapple with a shortage of infant and specialty formula that only has intensified in recent weeks, U.S. public health officials announced.

• Story:  What to Know: The COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout for Children 6 Months and Older
  • Date:  June 20
  • Summary:  The nation reaches another important milestone in the COVID-19 pandemic response as the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months and older begins across the nation.

• Story:  Budget Supports Pennsylvanians’ Mental Health
  • Date:  July 8
  • Summary:  The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) reacted to the General Assembly’s passage of the 2022–2023 state budget, which includes more than $142 million in additional funding to support behavioral health care.

• Story:  Hospitals Face ‘Worst Financial Year’ in a Long Time
  • Date:  August 30
  • Summary:  The nation’s hospitals faced the “worst margins since the beginning of the pandemic” during July, according to the latest Kaufman Hall National Hospital Flash Report.

• Story:  FDA Authorizes Bivalent Booster Doses
  • Date:  August 31
  • Summary:  The FDA authorized the Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent COVID-19 vaccines for use as a booster dose.

• Story:  What to Know: Pa. Lawmakers Pass Prior Authorization Reform
  • Date:  October 28
  • Summary:  The FDA authorized the Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent COVID-19 vaccines for use as a booster dose.

• Story:  RSV Challenges Hospitals in Pa., Nation
  • Date:  November 2
  • Summary:  Pennsylvania hospitals continue to respond to a rise in seasonal illnesses, especially RSV, as we head into the winter months.

• Story:  The Issues that Mattered on Election Day
  • Date:  November 10
  • Summary:  Inflation and the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade were among the key issues on voters’ minds during the 2022 election.

• Story:  HAP President and CEO Andy Carter to Retire
  • Date:  November 10
  • Summary:  Andy Carter, president and CEO of The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) since 2012, announced his plan to retire by June 30 of next year.

• Story:  Federal Lawmakers Make Final Push to Prevent Medicare Cuts
  • Date:  December 14
  • Summary:  A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers—led by a member of Pennsylvania’s delegation—is urging Congress to avert harmful Medicare cuts that would jeopardize access to care throughout the nation.

HAP thanks our members for their outstanding dedication to their communities and looks forward to providing updates about the pandemic, the latest happenings in Harrisburg and Washington, and other health care topics in HAP Daily during 2023.