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December 16, 2009, 8:59 pm
Senate Banking & Insurance Committee
8:30 a.m., 12/16/09, Room 8E-B, East Wing
By Mike Howells
The committee met to receive testimony on health care reform, and in particular single-payer coverage.
Members in attendance included Chairman Don White (R-Indiana), Minority Chairman Mike Stack (D-Philadelphia), and Senators Larry Farnese (D-Philadelphia), Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland), Pat Vance (R-Cumberland), Anthony Williams (D-Philadelphia), Jake Corman (R-Centre), Jane Earll (R-Erie), and John Rafferty (R-Montgomery).
Discussion centered around SB 400, single-payer legislation introduced by Senator Jim Ferlo (D-Allegheny).
Continue reading Freemium Content — Senate Banking & Industry hearing on single-payer health care
December 8, 2009, 10:48 am
The committee met consider three bills. After a lengthy discussion, HB 1961 establishing the Home Care Consumer Information Report Card Program and HB 2062 requiring carbon monoxide alarms in facilities serving care dependent persons were passed over. HB 122 establishing the Senior Alert System was also passed over because the prime sponsor was unable to attend the meeting due to a scheduling conflict. Check the Capitol Toolbox later today for the full story.
December 2, 2009, 4:25 pm
By Sean Rossman, PLS Intern
Pushing for passage of HB 1393, medical marijuana advocates from across the state met to laud the benefits the bill would have for patients in need of marijuana use.
Chris Goldstein, of Pennsylvanians for Medical Marijuana, said the issue “comes to the core of affordable community health care,†adding that “medical marijuana is about common sense health care.â€
Rep. Mark Cohen (D-Philadelphia), prime sponsor of HB 1393, said the “cultural wars of the 1960’s have long since been over. This bill is not about young students getting high, this is about sick people getting healed.â€
Continue reading Freemium Content — Medical Marijuana Advocates Tout HB 1393
November 18, 2009, 12:25 pm
The House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee held a public hearing to listen to the results and recommendations found in the study “Improving End-of-Life Experiences for Pennsylvanians.” Committee members heard testimony from medical professionals and advocates, as well as from Secretary John Hall from the Department of Aging, who suggested that more needs to be done to encourage people to having “end-of-life” discussions before it is too late. Dr. Joseph Straton spoke about some of the misconceptions about hospice care and the importance of raising awareness for the resources that are available to residents of the Commonwealth. Check the Capitol Toolbox later for more information.
November 10, 2009, 6:39 pm
House Education Committee
9:00 a.m., 11/10/09, Room 205 Ryan Office Building
By Matt Hess
The committee held a public hearing on closing the adequacy gap.
Members in attendance included Chairman James Roebuck (D-Philadelphia), Minority Chairman Paul Clymer (R-Bucks), Rep. Scott Conklin (D-Centre), Rep. Lawrence Curry (D-Montgomery), Rep. Richard Grucela (D-Northampton), Rep. Mark Longietti (D-Mercer), Rep. Ken Smith (D-Lackawanna), Rep. Barbara McIlvaine Smith (D-Chester), Rep. Chelsa Wagner (D-Allegheny), Rep. Jake Wheatley (D-Allegheny), Rep. Bernie O’Neill (R-Bucks), Rep. Mike Fleck (R-Huntington), Rep. Duane Milne (R-Chester), Rep. Thomas Murt (R-Montgomery), and Rep. Todd Rock (R-Franklin).
Continue reading Freemium Content — House Education Hearing on Adequacy Gap
October 28, 2009, 4:27 pm
At the end of nearly every blog post on FYI by PLS, you’ve probably noticed the addendum, “Check the Capitol Toolbox later for the full story.” Well for those of you who aren’t PLS subscribers, the full story is something you may not even know you’re missing. Therefore, once a week from now on, we will be posting a full PLS story to the blog, so non-subscribers can see precisely the quality and comprehensive reporting our subscribers have come to rely on. It’s free, premium content, and we’re calling it “Freemium.” So when you see the following banner, you’ll know you’re reading something normally exclusive only to subscribers.
And if you’d like to sign up for a free month-long trial, a link will be available beneath each Freemium story.
October 28, 2009, 10:03 am
The House Aging and Adult Older Services Committee held a hearing this morning on the impacts of Alzheimer’s Disease on the state of Pennsylvania. Community outreach programs, governmental programs, and the caregiver experience were also discussed. Testimony came from the Department of Aging, the Alzheimer’s Association, AARP, and the Pennsylvania Association of Area Agencies on Aging. Check the Capitol Toolbox later for the story.
September 29, 2009, 11:38 am
The committee received a briefing on the Pennsylvania Integrated Care Initiative from Secretary of Aging Michael Hall and Secretary of Public Welfare Estelle Richman. The plan is designed to allow persons aged 60 and older who are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plan to have their Medicaid benefits provided through the same plan. The members also voted unanimously to report as committed HB 1482 with a recommendation it be re-referred to House Professional Licensure. Check the Capitol Toolbox later for the full story.
June 23, 2009, 10:03 am
The House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee met to consider HB 1676 (seeking to change the reimbursement rates for pharmacies). Ultimately the Committee reported the bill as amended but only after several members complained that the bill should have been run through a committee hearing first to hear the concerns of pharmacies. A motion to table the bill narrowly failed. Check the Capitol Toolbox this afternoon for the full story.
June 10, 2009, 9:42 am
The House Aging Committee met this morning to consider HB 1152, which proposes to merge the Office of Long Term Living with the Department of Aging to create a new Department of Aging and Long Term Living. The bill was unanimously reported as amended following the consideration twelve amendments, seven of which were adopted.
Look for the complete story in the Capitol Toolbox this afternoon.
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