Bill O?Boyle: Sen. Toomey releases plan for gradually, safely reopening PA's economy

Apr. 25--WILKES-BARRE -- U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, a member of President Trump's bipartisan "Opening Up America Again Congressional Group," this week released a conceptual framework for gradually and safely reopening Pennsylvania's economy.

Toomey's #PAStartsUpSafely framework provides for a three-phase, county-based approach to reopening Pennsylvania's economy.

"Gov. (Tom) Wolf made public his framework for gradually reopening the state economy beginning on May 8," Toomey said. "Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, my staff and I have had regular contact with the governor and his team about several issues, including how we begin the process of returning to normal life."

Toomey said the governor's proposal represents progress and it shares many similarities with his own plan. However, Toomey said his plan has several differences, including:

--With Pennsylvania's health care systems not being overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients, most of the state should resume some level economic activity immediately.

--Provides counties with the flexibility to account for isolated statistical anomalies.

--Allows doctors and hospitals to resume elective procedures immediately -- provided safety benchmarks are met.

--Expanded and improved testing for at-risk health care workers, including those in nursing homes.

"No one plan will account for all the variables that we must address to open Pennsylvania in a gradual and safe manner," Toomey said. "I look forward to working with the Wolf Administration on addressing these challenges."

Manufacturers praise plan

David N. Taylor, President & CEO of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association, said Toomey's 'PA Starts Up Safely' plan provides the immediate structure, support, and guidance necessary to allow the commonwealth to get back to business.

"There's no need to arbitrarily wait until May 8, as more than half of the commonwealth's counties show significant remediation," Taylor said. "Furthermore, local control allows for metrics to be met without state-directed overreach based on statistical anomalies."

Taylor said is is clear that Toomey's plan is one that policymakers should embrace as it appropriately balances the health and well-being of citizens, health systems, and industries.

State issues guidance for

resumption of construction

As the construction industry prepares to resume work, the Wolf Administration this week issued guidance for all construction businesses and employees to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

All businesses in the construction industry in the commonwealth are permitted to resume in-person operations starting Friday, May 1 -- one week earlier than previously announced.

Previously, Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine ordered most construction projects to cease unless they were supporting life-sustaining businesses or activities or were granted an exemption to perform or support life-sustaining activities.

+As we start to take steps to reopen the state, we recognize that the construction industry is vital to Pennsylvania's economy and may operate safely with stringent guidance in place that will protect employees and the public," Wolf said.

The guidance, developed from guidance created by the General Contractors Association of Pennsylvania, provides universal protocols for all construction activity, as well as specific additional guidance for residential, commercial and public construction projects.

All business and employees in the construction industry must adhere to the Secretary of Health's order providing for business safety measures, which requires that every person present at a work site wear masks/face coverings unless they are unable for medical or safety reasons and requires that businesses establish protocols upon discovery that the business has been exposed to a person who is a probable or confirmed case of COVID-19.

All construction projects must maintain proper social distancing and provide hand washing and sanitizing stations for workers, as well as cleaning and sanitizing protocols for high risk transmission areas. Businesses must identify a "pandemic safety officer" for each project or work site, or, for large scale construction projects, for each contractor at the site.

Residential construction projects may not permit more than four individuals on the job site at any time, not including individuals who require temporary access to the site and are not directly engaged in the construction activity.

For non-residential or commercial projects, the number of individuals permitted on enclosed portions of a project varies depending on the size of the enclosed site. Commercial construction firms should also strongly consider establishing a written safety plan for each work location containing site specific details for the implementation of this guidance to be shared with all employees and implemented and enforced by the pandemic safety officer.

Local governments may elect to impose more stringent requirements than those contained in the guidance and in such instances, businesses must adhere to those more stringent requirements.

Local officials have been tasked with ensuring that construction businesses are aware that this guidance exists and notifying businesses that a complaint of noncompliance was received.

Cartwright helping seniors with

dependents to receive payments

In a letter to the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) this week, U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Moosic, urged Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig to ensure seniors who rely on Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits receive the full value of the economic impact payments owed to them under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act as quickly as possible.

On Monday, April 20, the IRS issued a "special alert" explaining that Social Security and Railroad Retirement recipients, who are not required to file tax returns, had until 12 p.m. eastern time on Wednesday, April 22 -- less than 48 hours -- to complete the online IRS non-filer tool and claim their eligible dependents, in order to make sure they receive their additional $500 per eligible child along with their automatic stimulus payment of $1,200.

If they failed to meet the deadline, those seniors would receive the $500 stimulus payment only after they file a tax return for 2020 -- which is not available until 2021. One recent estimate shows that about one million children would lose out on the $500 payment their parents or guardians were supposed to receive this year under the CARES Act.

"While I appreciate the need to deliver swift relief to the many Americans financially impacted by the coronavirus, I am nevertheless concerned about the decision to give Social Security and Railroad Retirement recipients less than two days' notice of a deadline to register any dependents using the IRS non-filer tool," Cartwright wrote in the letter. "Many of these individuals may not know that they qualify for a larger payment, or may be unaware of the deadline, or may lack access to the technology needed to access the IRS non-filer tool in a timely manner. Consequently, it's likely that many will have missed yesterday's deadline and will have to file a 2020 tax return in order to receive the benefit they are owed."

State Senate passes

telemedicine bill

The Pennsylvania Senate this week gave final approval to a bill that promotes telemedicine as a way to overcome barriers to quality patient care created by distance and reduce the costs of those services, according to Sen. John Yudichak, I-Swoyersville.

"Senate Bill 857 will help lower health care costs and improve patient care through the effective use of telemedicine," Yudichak said. "During this global pandemic, many of us have utilized telemedicine as a way to keep appointments with medical professionals without having to leave home. We have seen how important telemedicine is for all Pennsylvania residents, especially for those in our rural areas, and I urge Governor Wolf to let this bill become law."

Senate Bill 857 specifically defines telemedicine as "the delivery of health care services provided through telecommunications technology to a patient by a healthcare practitioner who is at a different location." It also establishes guidelines regarding who can provide telemedicine services, and provides clarity regarding insurance company reimbursement for those services.

While Senate Bill 857 makes substantial changes in the health care industry, physicians and other health practitioners delivering telemedicine services would still be required to follow standard state licensure and medical practice laws and requirements in Pennsylvania.

Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.

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