(The Center Square) – It was a busy week on the Pennsylvania House floor. With all eyes on major legislative priorities like voting reform and marijuana legalization, here are some of the successful bills you may have missed.
The sweetest bill the House has seen has finally made its way to the Senate. Rep. Tom Mehaffie, R-Hershey, has made good on a promise to the Hershey Kiss Committee to enshrine the silver symbol as the state’s official candy.
Healthcare
Rep. Gina Curry, D-Upper Darby saw a bill to eliminate out-of-pocket costs for diagnostic breast imaging through the House with a vote of 198-5. It would require insurance companies to cover the cost of additional imaging done following the detection of abnormalities in routine screenings. They’d also be required to cover extra screenings for those at a high risk for breast cancer.
“Facing the possibility of breast cancer after an abnormal mammogram is already emotionally stressful,” said Curry. “Adding financial burden only increases that overwhelm. Some individuals can’t readily shoulder the costs of added tests and either delay them until they can or forego them completely. We shouldn’t be asking people to delay the start of potentially life-saving treatments because the cost of a final diagnosis is too high.”
The specter of foregone medical treatment was raised in another bipartisan vote. The House passed a medical debt relief bill that would simplify and standardize the information provided to patients at healthcare facilities regarding the availability and process for obtaining financial assistance.
The bill’s prime sponsor Rep. Arvind Venkat, D-Pittsburgh, an emergency physician himself, said “Making the system more accessible and user-friendly for patients will help prevent all Pennsylvanians from accumulating medical debt.”
In a nearly unanimous vote, the House agreed to allow physicians traveling with international sports teams to practice medicine in the state without going through the process of obtaining Pennsylvania licensure. The bill will allow teams participating in the upcoming FIFA World Cup to bring their medical personnel, limiting their practice to their own players. This is an extension of allowances already given to doctors traveling with out-of-state competitors.
Finances and Economy
A Democratic initiative boasting strong support from Republican Treasurer Stacy Garrity has cleared the House floor, though legislative Republicans expressed strong opposition to it. Critics say the proposed Keystone Saves Retirement Plan would interfere too much with independent businesses and adds a financial and administrative burden by creating an additional payroll deduction for employers.
The plan would not require employers to contribute to IRAs provided, nor would workers be obligated to use it. It aims to address the widening gap between people’s retirement savings and their financial needs as they age.
“It’s a problem not just for retirees but also for the Commonwealth as financially unprepared retirees are projected to cost the state an additional $14 billion in social services between 2015 and 2030 (an average of nearly $1 billion per year),” wrote the bill’s prime sponsor Rep Kyle Mullins, D-Olyphant.
The House voted unanimously to increase pensions for blind, amputee, and paralyzed veterans from $150 to $200 monthly. The program serves thousands in the state who were injured in service to the country.
A bill that would address the misclassification of construction workers as independent contractors made it through with some opposition. It would penalize contractors who misclassify workers therefore making them ineligible for benefits.
Homeowners
The state is considering the adoption of first-time homebuyer savings accounts, allowing Pennsylvanians to receive a tax exemption for money set aside for the explicit purpose of buying a house. The bill passed the floor with bipartisan support.
Those who already own homes could benefit from a bill that would allow mortgage lenders to charge and discount points, in keeping with rules in most other states. The initiative would allow borrowers to buy down their interest rates and more easily access home equity. It passed the House unanimously.
A bill that would establish a blighted property database using code violations from local municipalities passed the House 125-78. Prime sponsor Rep. Brandon Markosek, D-Monroesville, says the bill would help hold property owners accountable and provide the opportunity to remediate the problem of blight statewide.
Homeowners who choose the energy-efficient option of drying their clothes outdoors in the sun would be protected by a bill that passed 128-75. It would prevent homeowners’ associations and other organizations from prohibiting the practice while allowing them leeway to restrict where on a property clothes can be dried.
