Major Pennsylvania Health Bills Address Workforce Shortages and Strengthen ACA Protections: What You Need to Know

What health care topics would you like to see covered in your area? Share your thoughts!

This year, health care is a hot topic in Pennsylvania as lawmakers work on the state budget and discuss new policies. Governor Josh Shapiro highlighted key issues like workforce shortages, struggling hospitals, and concerns over for-profit health care companies in his recent budget address.

On the other hand, Republican lawmakers are focused on reducing spending, especially in programs like Medicaid, which provides insurance to low-income individuals.

Here are some important health care priorities that lawmakers are looking at this year.

Protecting the Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), enacted in 2010, guarantees crucial health benefits. These include free annual check-ups, coverage for blood tests and prescriptions, and mental health treatments. It also prevents insurers from denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions and allows young adults to stay on their parents’ plans until age 26.

In the past, attempts were made to repeal the ACA, but they were unsuccessful. Recently, changes to the program have been suggested without many details. In his address, Governor Shapiro emphasized the need for Pennsylvania to adopt ACA protections into state law to safeguard the health care of about 1.2 million residents who rely on these plans.

He warned that if these protections were lost, health care costs could skyrocket for many Pennsylvanians. To address this, Democratic lawmakers in both the Senate and House are pushing for bills to implement ACA protections at the state level. Some members from the House Republican side have shown early support for these efforts, with the bills now under review in the banking and insurance committees.