Bills to Benefit Public Health and Physician Issues Likely on Fall Legislative Agenda

Still high on the Pennsylvania Medical Society’s (PAMED) list of state legislative priorities this fall are passage of apology legislation (House Bill 495) and legislation to regulate Pennsylvania’s tanning facilities (Senate Bill 349/HB 369).

HB 495, which would allow health care providers and patients to have a full and open conversation after an unforeseen outcome, passed the House on March 2, 2011. It is awaiting consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

A bill to regulate Pennsylvania's tanning facilities (SB 349) was passed by the state Senate on Oct. 31, 2011, by a vote of 48-1. The bill now goes to the House Health Committee for consideration. Though there is a similar bill in the House (HB 369), PAMED believes SB 349 is more likely to be the ultimate vehicle for regulating tanning salons as discussed in our Weekly Capitol Update blog on July 15, 2011.

More bills supported by PAMED are expected to move this fall, including measures to:

• Streamline the physician credentialing process (HB 1551)
• Ban texting and use of handheld cell phones while driving (SB 314) 
• Establish standards for managing concussions and head injuries in student athletes (SB 200)
• Further define ophthalmic surgery to promote patient safety (HB 838)

Legislation to create a new controlled substances database in Pennsylvania, HB 1651, also was introduced in the state House this summer. While PAMED supports the concept of such a database, we have some concerns with the way this legislation is currently written.

Before the summer legislative recess, PAMED and its allies won two important victories for physicians and patients with passage of bills that update state HIV law and modify the state’s joint and several liability law.

Do you want to keep up to date with what’s happening with health care at the Capitol, but don’t have time? PAMED offers several ways to stay abreast of the latest legislative and regulatory news:

• Go to Quick Glance for the status of health care bills PAMED is following in Harrisburg.
• Read PAMED’s Weekly Capitol Update blog to get an inside view of our advocacy efforts, written weekly by Scot Chadwick, vice president for governmental affairs at PAMED.
• Sign up for MyPAMEDSOC and receive a weekly email that lets you know what stories have been posted to our website on topics that interest you.