

	June 11, 2009	Rxforpa.com \| PA.gov

Governor Rendell signs four pieces of health care legislation:

A few weeks ago we asked you to contact your legislators and tell them the time had come to work together to make meaningful health care reforms. Thanks to your support, the legislature acted and the governor was able to sign four bills into law improving the health care system in Pennsylvania.

Yesterday, the Governor signed legislation allowing parents to cover their single adult children up to age 30 on their employer’s health care plan, at the parent’s expense, if their employer is willing to offer such coverage, extending eligibility for federal COBRA to businesses with 19 or fewer employees, prohibiting health care providers from seeking payments for “never events” and extending the existence of the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council through 2014.

Upon signing the bills the Governor said, “I’d like to recognize the good work of the legislature in working together to pass these bills which will help provide health care coverage for thousands of uninsured Pennsylvanians, reduce the cost of health care and will improve health care quality for all Pennsylvanians.”

To learn more about the four initiatives click here

Still more to be done:

The signing of these four crucial pieces of legislation put us closer to filling Governor Rendell’s Prescription for Pennsylvania, but we still have work to do.

Yesterday, the state House considered HB 1, a bill to expand the current adultBasic program to thousands of uninsured adults who want and need access to affordable health insurance. The bill was debated in the full House yesterday and is waiting final consideration and passage by the chamber.

Additionally, the Senate Republican caucus continues to advocate for its proposed budget which eliminates GOHCR and pulls the plug on critical initiatives that are already making a difference in improving the quality of health care for hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania residents. By eliminating funding for GOHCR, the Senate Republican budget would end the Pennsylvania Chronic Care Initiative and the Pennsylvania Health Information Exchange. Both of these initiatives will transform the way care is delivered by improving quality and making it more patient centered and efficient.

Call your legislators and tell them the time has come to expand access for affordable health insurance to Pennsylvania adults, and that maintaining GOCHR is crucial to ensuring that Pennsylvania remains a leader in delivering affordable, quality health care.

In the News:

GOVERNOR SIGNS FOUR HEALTH-CARE BILLS THAT WILL REDUCE COSTS, IMPROVE ACCESS AND QUALITY

Parties search for health care agreement

Pennsylvania physicians should back plan to help uninsured


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