‘We’re fighting back’: PA House Dems celebrate passage of Affordable Care Act protections

In a series of bipartisan votes, Pennsylvania House lawmakers passed several bills that would codify health care protections from the Affordable Care Act into state law in the event that the health care law is repealed or invalidated at the federal level. 

Bills passed by House lawmakers on Tuesday include a measure that would allow adult children to remain on a parent’s private health plan up to age 26, as well as another measure that would prohibit insurers from placing lifetime or annual limits on health care. 

Democratic lawmakers said Tuesday that the need for the bills is heightened now that President Donald Trump is back in the White House and Republicans control both chambers of Congress. Politico reported this month that the Trump administration is seeking to shorten the Obamacare enrollment period by a month. 

“We’ve seen threats to the Affordable Care Act in Congress, through executive action and through federal court lawsuits. We can’t wait for D.C. politicians or appointees to take away our health care rights for millions of Pennsylvanians,” said state Rep. Perry Warren, the majority chair of the House Insurance Committee, at a rally following Tuesday’s vote on the legislation. 

The House passes four bills with bipartisan support

Lawmakers passed four health care-related bills on Tuesday with support from members of both parties. 

The bills passed in the House include: 

• House Bill 404, sponsored by 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 535, sponsored by state Rep. Dan Frankel, which would prohibit insurers from setting annual or lifetime limits on the cost of care
• House Bill 618, sponsored by state Rep. Jim Haddock, which would prohibit insurers from denying or excluding coverage due to preexisting conditions
• House Bill 755, sponsored by state Rep. Perry Warren, would would require health insurance policies to cover preventative health care services without cost-sharing

The Affordable Care Act, signed into law in 2010, 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 Speaker Joanna McClinton said Tuesday that Democrats will protect access to health care regardless of the policy decisions that play out at the federal level in Washington, D.C. 

“We understand that there’s some young adults who are, like many in our households, still trying to get situated, getting ready to start their first job, who still need mom’s health care,” she said. “We understand that there are many who have a preexisting condition, whether it is something as small as high blood pressure or something as serious as getting treatment for cancer – we don’t want any insurance carriers denying any Pennsylvanians their right for coverage and their ability to take care of themselves in a time of need.”

“We cannot allow this person who calls himself a president to take away all our rights. We’re in Harrisburg and we’re fighting back. This is what leadership looks like,” McClinton said.  

Democrats call on Senate lawmakers to act

While Democrats celebrated Tuesday’s bipartisan votes, they also put pressure on the Republican-controlled state Senate to take action on the bills and send them to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk. 

“We’ve got to send a message to the Senate Republicans, pass those good health care bills. Pass those House health care bills. Pass the health care bills,” said state Sen. Vincent Hughes, the minority chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Tuesday’s rally in support of the legislation included an appearance from Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, who said Shapiro would sign the bills if the Senate approves them. 

“We’re not going back to a time where young people were kicked off of their parents’ health care, a time when people with preexisting conditions can’t get coverage … and 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, Gov. Shapiro will sign those bills into law,” he said.