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Everyone deserves access to health care. And no one should go broke or be forced to choose between their medical bills and other necessities like groceries, utilities or housing. No one should have to ask the trauma center for a price sheet and a credit application before getting emergency care.
Beyond even that, preserving health care is preserving one-sixth of Pennsylvania’s economy and tens of thousands of good jobs across the commonwealth that can’t be outsourced.
Health care is under attack in Washington, D.C., like never before. We’re fighting to protect your health coverage, expand access to care and ensure quality and affordable health care in Pennsylvania. Just this year, we’ve passed many bills to make sure you can stay healthy or take care of yourself when you – or someone you love – grows older, gets sick, or is injured.
Enshrining Affordable Care Act Protections - I voted for bills to:
- Make sure parents can keep their children insured until age 26, because medical bills should never stand in the way of a bright future.
- Stop insurance companies from capping your coverage for essential benefits – because lifetime benefits should last a lifetime.
- Protect coverage for pre-existing conditions, ensuring that all coverage is maintained, no matter what health condition you have – some insurance companies even try to treat getting pregnant as a “pre-existing condition” to deny care.
- Require health insurance policies to cover preventive health care services without cost-sharing, keeping you healthy now and screening for health care issues that could arise in the future. After all, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
- Make sure private equity firms can’t buy up our hospitals and nursing homes and drain them dry before closing them down and leaving our communities without any care options.
Protecting Our Moms – I passed bills to:
- Require insurance coverage for blood pressure monitors for home use within one year of the delivery or end of pregnancy.
- Expand Medical Assistance to cover blood pressure monitors for home use as a pregnancy-related service.
- Require health insurers to cover diagnostic breast examinations.
Protecting our Seniors
I passed a bill to make sure older residents who get their medicine from PACE and PACENET never have to worry about being kicked off those benefits due to a Social Security benefit increase.
I passed a bill making it easier for you to get your medicine by cutting red tape and allowing electronic transfer of certain prescription medications between pharmacies.
I passed a bill to protect student-athletes and people who attend games by requiring AEDs at school athletic events- in fact, I also fought to pass a bill requiring every state building be equipped with an AED.
I passed a bill to make sure insurance companies can’t deny your child coverage when health care providers deliver services like speech therapy, occupational therapy or anything else when the care is provided in a school setting.
I passed a bill recognizing your teeth are part of your body and requiring Medical Assistance to provide dental coverage.
I voted for a bill to make sure insurers cover contraceptives.
It’s a lot, but health care is vital and impacts us all. Now? It’s up to the state Senate to stand up for you. Please call your senator and tell them to act.
Want to know more? Visit www.pahouse.com/deliveringforpa.
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