State House passes legislation to protect vaccine access across Pennsylvania
Rep. Bridget M. Kosierowski October 29, 2025 | 2:48 PM
HARRISBURG, Oct. 29 – In the wake of major changes to a federal vaccine advisory panel that could threaten Pennsylvanians’ access to life-saving immunizations, the state House has passed legislation that would protect access to recommended vaccines, the bill’s co-prime sponsors, state Reps. Arvind Venkat, Tarik Khan and Bridget Kosierowski -- all health professionals -- announced.
The legislation, H.B. 1828, would require private insurers to cover vaccines that have been recommended by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The department would be able to draw upon the expertise of professional medical societies in that recommendation, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.
Venkat said this legislation is needed to ensure that critical immunization protections remain available to Pennsylvanians after recent developments from the federal government.
“We have seen the firing of all members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and their replacement with several anti-vaccine activists. We have also seen the firing and resignation of the entire leadership of the CDC due to their unwillingness to support anti-vaccine policies,” said Venkat, D-Allegheny. “This is a major issue we are already seeing the consequences of with the recent measles outbreak across the country and the non-evidence-based restrictions on access to COVID immunizations, which will set public health back by decades if we do not act.”
ACIP is a deliberative body that makes binding recommendations under the Affordable Care Act and the Vaccines for Children program on vaccine coverage and use in the United States.
“As a physician, I know how powerful vaccines at all stages of life can be for preventing or mitigating disease. If ACIP stops recommending certain FDA-approved vaccines, insurers will no longer have to cover them, and critical immunizations that protect children and vulnerable Pennsylvanians from deadly diseases could disappear. As ACIP calls into question the scheduling of vaccines for the flu, measles, mumps, rubella, and chicken pox, we need to act before it is too late.”
“I am glad to see my colleagues in the House support the authority of scientific knowledge and the veracity of decades of proven research in vaccine science by passing this bill,” said Kosierowski, D-Lackawanna. “As a nurse for nearly thirty years, I am deeply concerned that our overburdened health care system will be overwhelmed by the surge of cases of serious, long-term illnesses should they occur if people no longer have access to proven and trusted life-saving scheduled vaccines. This bill would serve as a guardrail protecting public health by ensuring that critical immunizations remain covered by insurance companies.”
“As a nurse, I’ve seen what happens when patients can’t get the vaccines they need — they develop chronic diseases they have to deal with the rest of their lives,” said Khan, D-Phila. “Our bill is about making sure every Pennsylvanian, including kids and older adults, can get the lifesaving vaccines they need no matter what’s happening in Washington. Prevention is always better than treatment, it’s common sense.”
It is estimated that vaccines have saved 154 million lives worldwide over the last 50 years.
House Bill 1828 will now move to the state Senate for consideration.