In the near future, I plan to introduce a resolution directing that the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee (LBFC) perform a study on the burden of regulations on health care facilities and providers in Pennsylvania.
 
Hospitals and clinicians in the Commonwealth continue to face serious financial and operational challenges, including workforce shortages, inflationary pressures, and rising demand for services. One recent Pennsylvania-focused analysis found that 37% of Pennsylvania hospitals have negative operating margins, and 25 hospitals have closed since 2016.
 
Requirements from multiple state agencies that are duplicative, outdated, or inconsistently interpreted only exacerbate those pressures. According to the American Hospital Association’s study on regulatory overload, the average-size hospital devotes $7.6 million dollars per year to administrative compliance costs. Industry leaders have also warned that layers of regulatory requirements too often stifle innovation, and pull providers away from the bedside at a time when workforce shortages are already at critical levels.
 
Regulatory relief is one practical way we can help stabilize access to care, especially in our rural and underserved communities. Many of Pennsylvania’s core facility licensure requirements have not been comprehensively modernized in decades, forcing hospitals to operate under requirements that often no longer reflect modern care delivery, current technology, or federal standards. As Pennsylvania’s experience during the COVID-19 emergency showed us, judicious suspension of certain regulatory requirements can allow hospitals to respond to exigent circumstances while maintaining safe, high-quality care.
 
By tasking the LBFC with reviewing regulations that can be modernized, consolidated, or eliminated, we can identify and streamline care delivery and reduce unnecessary administrative burden, without adding to the Commonwealth’s structural fiscal challenges or compromising patient safety.
 
I invite you to join me in co-sponsoring this resolution.