Senate Republican budget would end health initiatives that save lives and money

Dear Fellow Health Care Advocates,

In the past six years we have been able to accomplish a lot together -- passing Cover All Kids, an indoor smoking ban and the nation’s toughest health facility acquired infection legislation; allowing qualified health care professionals to practice to the fullest extent of their training and ability; transforming long-term care to allow our older citizens the right to age with dignity in a manner of their choosing; transforming the way chronic care is delivered; and being tireless advocates for the uninsured.

However, if the budget proposal passed by the State Senate is allowed to become law, the Governor’s Office of Health Care Reform (GOHCR) will disappear. SB 850 which passed the Senate on a party line vote eliminates all funding for GOHCR, including funding for the Pennsylvania Chronic Care Initiative, the Pennsylvania Health Information Exchange and enforcement of Act 52 which works to systematically eliminate HAIs and is proving successful in saving lives and money.

The Chronic Care Initiative is not only transforming the way care is delivered for patients all across the Commonwealth suffering from chronic conditions, but is improving how primary health care is delivered to all patients. It has been recognized as one of the most progressive initiatives in the country and is being studied by the Obama Administration as it looks for health care solutions with a proven track record. 

The Pennsylvania Health Information Exchange –or PHIX – is the superhighway that will allow for authorized exchanges of electronic health information between patients, health care providers and payers and enhance our public health information.

This “super highway” is needed not only to transform our health care system to one ready to meet the challenges of the 21st Century, but will make the system more efficient and cost effective in the long-run. The infrastructure PHIX will provide must be in place if doctors, hospitals, nurses and other health care providers want to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in federal stimulus money to implement a transition to electronic health records.