A statement from “Healthcare for PA families”
House Republicans once again tried to bring the physician MCARE abatement up for a vote on the House floor, but Democrats avoided this critical vote on the last day of session this year.
House Republican Health Care Task Force co-chairs, Reps. Scott Boyd (R-Lancaster County) and Kathy Watson (R-Bucks County) are disheartened that the Democrats are not dealing with this crucial issue when Pennsylvania doctors are fleeing the state, causing huge health care access issues.
Just this month, two more maternity units in southeastern Pennsylvania announced they will close in 2008: Central Montgomery Hospital in Lansdale, Montgomery County, and Brandywine Hospital in Coatesville, Chester County.
“Not addressing MCARE abatement is a disgrace to the people of Pennsylvania,” said Watson. “The sole reason this legislation was not passed this session is because Governor Ed Rendell said he will not sign this bill until the Legislature passes his multi-billion dollar universal health care plan.”
“State Democrats chose to politicize the health care of Pennsylvania families by tying together very separate issues. It is completely unacceptable and immoral,” said Boyd.
MCARE was created in 2002 to help doctors purchase medical malpractice insurance and stem the flood of physicians fleeing the state due to skyrocketing insurance rates.
Early in the legislative session last June, House Republicans proposed a health care plan aimed at reducing health care costs and increasing medical access for all Pennsylvanians without raising taxes.
Boyd and Watson noted that Pennsylvania is already ranked fifth best in the nation in the number of citizens currently covered by health insurance. Ninety-two percent of the state’s residents have health insurance coverage.
“We must focus our efforts on two points – affordability and quality, not spending billions of taxpayer dollars on failures and false promises,” said Boyd.
For more information on the House Republican plan, visit www.HealthCareForPaFamilies.com.
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