PA House approves bills that would codify Affordable Care Act protections in state law

Lawmakers in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a series of bills that would enshrine protections outlined in the federal Affordable Care Act into state law in the event that former President Barack Obama’s signature health care law is repealed or invalidated at the federal level. 

Signed into law in 2010, the Affordable Care Act included several consumer protection provisions designed to expand and protect access to health insurance. The law prohibits insurers from denying coverage or imposing exclusions on coverage due to preexisting health conditions, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The ACA also allows parents to keep adult children on their private health plans up to the age of 26, and prohibits annual and lifetime limits on the cost of health care. 

House lawmakers voted in bipartisan fashion to pass three bills that would establish those same protections at the state level. The state-level protections would take effect if Congress repeals either a portion or the entirety of the ACA, if a U.S. court vacates or invalidates the law or if the executive branch of the federal government refuses to enforce the regulations outlined by the Affordable Care Act.

The chamber approved the following bills on Wednesday: 

• House Bill 2562, sponsored by Democratic state Rep. Dan Frankel, which would prohibit insurers from setting annual or lifetime limits on the cost of care
• House Bill 2563, sponsored by Democratic state Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, which would allow adult children to remain on a parent’s private health plan up to age 26
• House Bill 2564, sponsored by Democratic state Rep. Jim Haddock, which would prohibit insurers from denying or excluding coverage due to preexisting conditions

HB 2562 was approved by a vote of 160-42, while HB 2563 passed 163-39. Haddock’s HB 2564 was approved with a 174-28 vote.

Frankel, who serves as the majority chair of the House Health Committee, said Wednesday’s votes were necessary due to ongoing legal and legislative efforts to challenge the Affordable Care Act. 

“The ACA has been under constant legal and political attack since its inception. Every few years we hear of another lawsuit that could reach the Supreme Court or a proposal in Washington that could dismantle these vital protections,” Frankel said on the House floor. “The 2022 Supreme Court ruling that struck down Roe v. Wade made painfully clear that we cannot rely on federal policies to protect our constituents.”

“We can and we must enshrine these safeguards in our own state law, guaranteeing that no Pennsylvanian is left without access to the care they need because of annual or lifetime caps,” he added. 

Pashinksi said Wednesday that it is important that younger adults are able to remain on parent health plans through the age of 26. 

“With a crucial safety network during these very formative years, this coverage ensures that they have access to preventative care, to necessary treatments and to mental health services, all of which are vital as they navigate the early stages of adulthood,” he said while giving remarks on the House floor. “Before the Affordable Care Act became law, many adult children were dropped from their parents’ insurance plan when they turned 18 years old. Losing health insurance leads to many other problems, and it also led to young, healthy individuals leaving the health insurance market entirely.”

No House lawmaker spoke in opposition to any of the three bills considered on Wednesday. All three pieces of legislation now head to the state Senate, where they will be referred to a state Senate committee, which must vote to approve the bills before they can receive a vote from the full state Senate. 

The state Senate has five more session days remaining this term. If the bills are not approved by the chamber by the end of this legislative session, the bills will have to go through the entire legislative process again next session.