March 21 Letter to the Governor – Pennsylvania American College of Physicians

PA-ACP is working daily to gather information, take actions and make recommendations for the Commonwealth to protect patients while limiting the potential impacts of COVID-19. 

On March 20, PA-ACP, along with the PA Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the PA Academy of Family Physicians, called on the Governor and Sec. Levine to:

• Mandate reimbursement for telemedicine services by commercial health insurers at the same rate as in-person visits.

• Request physician licensing reciprocity from neighboring states in order to ensure that patients near our borders can receive care from Pennsylvania physicians.

• Order expedited credentialing of physicians by commercial health insurers to ensure newly licensed physicians and physicians who may need to move their offices to respond to this crisis have no delay in the credentialing process.

• Direct commercial health insurers to suspend prior authorization requirements in order to lessen time-consuming administrative burdens on already strained providers, allowing them to focus on patient care.

 
The three organizations, representing more than 15,100 members, told the Governor, agency heads and legislative leaders that these actions will help patients and physicians deal with this crisis more efficiently and effectively, enable patients seeking routine care the ability to maintain access to quality care, and avoid potential exposure to the virus.

A copy of the letter to the Governor can be found here.