Philadelphia Unemployment Project

On Monday night December 10, Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Phila) tried to help our cause in the House by advancing the same MCARE amendment language added to SB 1137 on a bill before the Senate at the time, HB 489. To recap: MCARE is the fund that subsidizes doctors’ and hospitals’ malpractice insurance. The Governor has been its main champion and now he wants to use its accumulated, unneeded money to pay for part of Cover All Pennsylvanians for the next 8 to 11 years. To this end, SB 1137, which would reauthorize MCARE, was amended in the House to say that the funds would dry up in three months without a floor debate on providing health insurance to those without.

The State Senate, including some Senate Democrats, betrayed the uninsured with their NO vote on the Hughes amendment last week. The State House was poised to pass the MCARE bill, but the House Republicans bogged the bill down with so many amendments that it made it impossible for the House to run the bill. The State Senate and House Republicans need to hear from us that this is unacceptable, and we need health care reform now!
The Pennsylvania Health Access Network tried to pitch in by calling Republican House Members to move SB 1137 in the House on Tuesday. The thinking being that with four GOP members covering parts of Philadelphia and modest relationships with all of them, we might persuade them to come over. Many SEPA coalition partners told PUP they would make calls and PHAN leadership team members were working actively in Harrisburg or through their contacts. Thanks to all of you who participated.
Tuesday ended without a vote on SB 1137 in the House. The GOP offered 50 amendments, apparently to run out the clock on the session. The strategy succeeded. Rep. Todd Eachus announced the matter was closed until Jan. 2008.
We suffered a loss in the Senate, with Sen. Hughes’s amendment losing with every single GOP member voting against, along with the following Democrats: Dinniman, Ferlo, Kasunic, Mellow, Musto, Stout, Wozniak.