Pennsylvania House passes bills to enshrine Affordable Care Act protections in state law

Lawmakers in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a package of bills Wednesday designed to enshrine key elements of the Affordable Care Act into state law. Legislators said the bills would maintain the status quo in Pennsylvania should the federal government repeal or change the federal health care law.

With President Donald Trump back in the White House and both chambers of Congress under Republican control, Democratic lawmakers in Harrisburg said the bills would insulate Pennsylvanians from major changes to the Affordable Care Act. Earlier this month, the Trump administration proposed rolling back Biden-era policies aimed at expanding access to coverage. Some of the proposals include shortening the enrollment period and placing new limits on gender-affirming care coverage.

“We know what is happening at the federal government right now,” said House Speaker Joanna McClinton. “We in Harrisburg are stepping up to defend your right to health care. We are not just saying it; we are doing it.”

“Beyond the borders of Pennsylvania, we've seen threats to the Affordable Care Act in Congress through executive action and through federal court lawsuits,” said House Insurance Committee majority chairman and Bucks County Representative Perry Warren. Warren and other House Democrats celebrated the bills’ passage at a press conference Tuesday.

Lawmakers passed four health care bills Tuesday including:

• House Bill 535, sponsored by Pittsburgh-area Rep. Dan Frankel, which would prohibit Pennsylvania insurers from capping coverage benefits
• House Bill 618, sponsored by Luzerne County Rep. Jim Haddock, which would prohibit Pennsylvania insurers from denying or excluding coverage based on preexisting conditions
• House Bill 755, sponsored by Rep. Warren, which would require Pennsylvania insurers to cover preventative health care services without cost-sharing
• House Bill 404, sponsored by Wilkes-Barre-area Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, which would allow children to remain on their parent’s private health insurance plan up to the age of 26

All 101 House Democrats voted unanimously in support of the bills, with at least 20 Republicans voting in favor of each of the measures.

On the House floor Tuesday, Health Committee chair Dan Frankel warned that if protections created by the Affordable Care Act disappear, a previous status quo could return where sick people often got stuck without coverage. He recalled stories from that time about people who were “unlucky enough to get very sick,” and unable to afford care to get better.

“There were countless stories back then of parents fighting for their child's life and getting a letter in the mail from their insurance company saying, ‘Sorry, we've reached your limit. We won't cover another dollar of care,’” he said. “That's not just wrong, it's cruel.”

First-term Republican House member Jeremy Shaffer of northern Allegheny County, along with GOP colleagues Valerie Gaydos and Natalie Mihalek voted in favor of all four House bills meant to enshrine ACA protections in Pennsylvania. Canonsburg Republican Rep. Jason Ortitay voted ‘yes’ on two of them.

Banning coverage limits for preexisting conditions or health emergencies and allowing college students to stay on their parent’s insurance policies, “are things that I actually think that the vast majority of people in my district and across the state believe in,” Shaffer told WESA. “[They] will strengthen our private insurance, and I want to avoid having mandates that will encourage a government-run system.”

The four bills now head to the state Senate for consideration.

Tuesday’s press conference included remarks from Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, who said Gov. Josh Shapiro would sign the package of bills should the Senate send them to his desk.

“I'm here to say loud and clear, if my colleagues in the Pennsylvania Senate show real leadership and pass these Democratic House bills onto the governor's desk, Governor Shapiro will sign those bills into law,” Davis said.

But passage in the House, even with a comfortable bipartisan majority, is no guarantee that the Senate will take up the measure, let alone pass it. The upper chamber is controlled by Republicans, who often don't proceed on a bill unless it has solid backing within their caucus.

And some of the policies outlined in the legislation appear to have lost support among Republicans in the last few months: just last session, more House Republicans voted in favor of a similar package of bills, which ultimately languished in a Senate committee.

“Things have gotten a little more divisive now, so it lost some Republican support,” Shaffer told WESA. He declined to speculate on how the bills would fare in the Republican-controlled Senate, but said that with a "limited" legislative calendar, it all depends on the Senate’s top priorities.

It’s yet to be seen whether the bills have similarly lost favor among the Senate GOP. Senate Republican leaders either declined to comment on the measures or did not reply to WESA’s requests for comment Tuesday.

Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa, who represents Pittsburgh and portions of Allegheny County, said Tuesday he’s gearing up for a “fight” to pass the bills in the upper chamber.

“Every Pennsylvanian deserves to see a doctor when they are sick or injured, no matter what," Costa said. "As these bills make their way to the Senate, my colleagues and I will continue to raise our voices to fight for quality, affordable, and accessible health care for every single Pennsylvanian.”