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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 8, 2023 10:02 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Rob W. Kauffman |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Outpatient Renal Dialysis Staff Recruitment and Retention Program. |
| The COVID-19 pandemic and its lingering impacts have wreaked havoc on the Commonwealth’s healthcare infrastructure and dedicated citizens who care for the sick, the elderly and the infirmed. As a General Assembly, we acted to assist many frontline employees in elder care facilities and hospitals. Those individuals who provide life-sustaining kidney dialysis services to our friends, our neighbors and our constituents also make up a critical segment of frontline healthcare professionals. Very soon, I will introduce legislation to create a program that would provide relief and parity to the vital frontline workers who staff outpatient kidney dialysis facilities across the Commonwealth. Pennsylvania’s 335 outpatient kidney dialysis centers provide high quality kidney dialysis treatment to approximately 20,000 residents. Without this life-sustaining treatment often performed three times a week, patients suffering with end stage renal disease may need care in acute care emergency departments, endure lengthy inpatient hospitalizations or worse. With 82% of dialysis patients relying on Medicare, and nearly half of those patients also on Medicaid, the importance of adequate funding for this life-sustaining care cannot be overstated. Maintaining proper staffing levels is critical in order for these patients to receive quality care. Approximately 5,000 frontline workers have been caring for these critically ill patients during the pandemic. These dedicated healthcare professionals and bio-technicians were able to continue the operation of Pennsylvania’s outpatient dialysis centers under the most difficult of circumstances during the pandemic. Unfortunately, lingering issues from the pandemic continue to impose extraordinary demands on dialysis providers and the nation’s healthcare system, including a continued staffing shortage. Simply put, there is a staffing crisis facing the dialysis community with hundreds of critically needed positions to be filled. A preexisting shortage of trained direct care staff members has been exacerbated by the unintended negative consequences created when the General Assembly enacted relief for hospitals to hire and retain staff. Nurses employed by dialysis providers are leaving these positions due to the financial incentives being offered by hospitals and health systems. My legislation will provide relief to outpatient dialysis frontline workers similar to the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding provided to hospitals. It will allow providers to hire and retain frontline workers who will care for critically ill Pennsylvanians at Pennsylvania’s dialysis centers. Please join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation. |
Introduced as HB401