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Pennsylvania State Senate
05/19/2024 06:50 AM
Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20230&cosponId=40379
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Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2023 - 2024 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: March 31, 2023 03:52 PM
From: Senator Vincent J. Hughes and Sen. Maria Collett, Sen. Lisa M. Boscola, Sen. James R. Brewster, Sen. Amanda M. Cappelletti, Sen. Carolyn T. Comitta, Sen. Jay Costa, Sen. Jimmy Dillon, Sen. Marty Flynn, Sen. Wayne D. Fontana, Sen. Art Haywood, Sen. John I. Kane, Sen. Timothy P. Kearney, Sen. Nick Miller, Sen. Katie J. Muth, Sen. Steven J. Santarsiero, Sen. Nikil Saval, Sen. Judith L. Schwank, Sen. Sharif Street, Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione, Sen. Anthony H. Williams, Sen. Lindsey M. Williams
To: All Senate members
Subject: Protecting Insurance Coverage for Individuals with Pre-existing Conditions
 
In the near future, we plan on re-introducing Senate Bill 50 which would enshrine in state law a prohibition on health insurance companies from using an individual’s pre-existing medical condition to deny or exclude coverage under a health insurance policy. This legislation was developed in partnership with the Pennsylvania Insurance Department.

A recent ruling in Texas nullified the preventive care requirements in the federal essential health benefits nationwide.  Unfortunately the ruling reminds us how fragile many of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) protections are.  During the previous administration Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) approved several states’ waivers from the requirement to cover pre-existing conditions.  This allowed insurance policies to be sold on the ACA marketplace that denied coverage to individuals with preexisting conditions.  According to information from the Insurance Department, up to 5.4 million people in the Commonwealth have a pre-existing condition.

Our legislation would amend the Insurance Company Law to prohibit health insurance companies from denying or excluding coverage based on an individual’s preexisting medical conditions.  By enshrining these protects in state law, we can safeguard against future waiver requests and provide stability for insurance sold on the Pennsylvania insurance marketplace.

In the past, this legislation has enjoyed bipartisan support.

Please join us in protecting our constituents and ensuring they continue to have access to health coverage by co-sponsoring this important legislation.

If you have any questions, please contact our office.


Introduced as SB50