Berks County Medical Society Medical Record Spring 2021 - 22

News and Perspective from our State Legislators
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State Senator Bob Mensch
24th Legislative District
Greetings,
As State Senator for the 24th Senatorial District, I want to
remind you that my office is available to offer state-related services
for you and your family. Below are some services that may be of
interest to you. If you have any questions about state matters or
issues, please do not hesitate to contact my Red Hill office at 215541-2388 or my Lansdale office at 215-368-3117 or visit https://
www.senatormensch.com/ and a staff person will assist you.
1. You can stay updated on timely information by
following me on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/
PASenatorBobMensch/), Twitter (@SenatorMensch), and
Instagram (SenatorMensch). You can also sign up to receive my
e-newsletters at https://www.senatormensch.com/enewsletters/.
2. I recently re-introduced my Designated Essential Family
Caregivers (EFCs) in Long-Term Care Facilities legislation,
which was assigned as Senate Bill 190 for the current legislative
session.
My EFC legislation would allow facilities to designate at least
one EFC per resident. An EFC is someone who was regularly
providing care to a resident prior to COVID-19. Designation
would be at the sole discretion of the facility in consultation
with the resident and their families and must follow a resident's
care plan. Only facilities that can comply with current CDC
and DOH guidelines would have the ability to designate an
EFC.
The goal would be for EFCs to help high-risk residents who
are missing care previously provided by a loved one or outside
caregiver. It would still give flexibility for facilities to manage
and control possible outbreaks while still ensuring compliance
with federal and state regulations requiring visitation.
Currently, my bill is in the Aging and Youth Committee, which
passed it unanimously last session. I will continue to provide
updates as they occur on this important piece of legislation in
my e-newsletters and on social media.
3. Some other legislation I have introduced includes my
Medical Assistance for Workers with Disabilities bill - Senate
Bill 156. For people with disabilities, finding a job or returning
to work can be a challenge. These individuals, like anyone else,
deserve the opportunity to work to their full potential without
the fear of losing health care benefits.
In Pennsylvania, only 35% of people with disabilities are
working, with only 21% working full time.

www.berkscms.org

Unfortunately, private pay insurance does not offer the
home and community-based services, like nursing care, that
individuals with disabilities rely on to live their everyday lives,
so they rely on Medical Assistance for Workers with Disabilities
(MAWD).
Currently, MAWD services are only available to individuals
with disabilities with an income of less than 250%, or roughly
$32,000 annually. This often discourages workers from
working more hours, or from accepting a raise or promotion.
My bill will allow individuals with disabilities to increase
earnings under a new category of MAWD, called Workers with
Job Success (WJS). Anything earned over the cap will bump
contributions into a new category rather than just eliminating
eligibility all together, and covers workers from 250% of the
poverty level up to 600%, or roughly $76,000.
Workers will pay 7.5% of their income to the WJS program
to cover their health care, which is a 2.5% increase from the
current 5%. This means, that when a worker earns $75,000
annually, they will essentially pay 100% of the average cost of
the WJS program.
In context, 22 other states have more generous allowances than
Pennsylvania, or have removed caps all together. It is beyond
time that we take this step in Pennsylvania, and last session, this
bill passed the Senate unanimously.
4. Unfortunately, it's a little-known fact that in Pennsylvania
that most insurance coverages have some type of cap on
prosthetics, including artificial limbs, which can equate
to coverage for only one prosthetic per lifetime. This is
particularly worrisome for children or young adults who suffer
a catastrophic injury and then grow out of their one device and
need a new one only to find it's not covered under their plan.
My Insurance Coverage for Prosthetics - Senate Bill 289 -
would require that health insurers provide coverage for expenses
incurred in obtaining any orthotic or prosthetic device and/or
component. The bill requires health insurers, on and after the
bill's effective date, to reimburse for these benefits at the same
rate as reimbursement for orthotic and prosthetic devices under
the federal Medicare reimbursement schedule.
It is an honor to represent you in the 24th District and I look
forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Bob Mensch
Senator, 24th District
Majority Caucus Chair

http://www.senatormensch.com/ https://www.facebook.com/pasenatorbobmensch/ https://www.senatormensch.com/enewsletters/

Berks County Medical Society Medical Record Spring 2021

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