SNAP has been around for a few years now. What has it accomplished so far?
A lot. Specifically:
- On November 26, 2002, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives unanimously adopted House Resolution 743, advocated vigorously by SNAP, that officially recognized the existence of safety-net hospitals in Pennsylvania as defined by SNAP and called on the General Assembly to “take into account the special situation of these vital hospitals when implementing public policy.”
- SNAP played a major role in directing selected Medical Assistance FY 2005 fee-for-service outpatient rate increases to selected safety-net hospitals.
- SNAP was instrumental in the restoration of four hospitals to the list of those that qualify for Medical Assistance disproportionate share payments.
- SNAP issued a paper on health care quality and the Medical Assistance reimbursement system that helped shape the quality component that was introduced into the state's Medical Assistance program.
- SNAP's call for comprehensive Medical Assistance hospital payment reform was the driving force behind the current reform effort, and SNAP's recommendations for reform provided the starting point for reform talks - and continue to play a major role in those talks.
- Most important, SNAP has introduced the term “safety-net hospital” into the language of health care policy in Pennsylvania. Elected and appointed officials in both the administration and the General Assembly now routinely use the term “safety-net hospital” – a term that did not exist in those circles before SNAP was formed in the fall of 2002. This, we believe, will pay major dividends for Pennsylvania's safety-net hospitals in the months and years to come.
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