Lawmakers to act on health insurance

The Pennsylvania legislature returns to work in a few weeks for a just a few days before recessing this year. Healthcare organizations in the state are urging lawmakers to reach an agreement on a healthcare bill before time runs out. From WHYY’s health and science desk Kerry Grens reports.

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Several months ago the Pennsylvania Senate reached an impasse — a bill designed to renew medical liability assistance for doctors returned from the house with an addition — the bill now contained a scaled down version of Governor Ed Rendell’s subsidized health insurance plan — and Senate Republicans refused to pass it. With just nine days remaining in this year’s legislative session, Peter Lund, president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, says he is ramping up efforts to make the bill a priority for legislators.

Lund: The Pennsylvania Medical Society will be moving very strongly in the next period of time, even before the session. In fact we have to accomplish a consensus even before the legislators get back in session on how to handle this issue.

Lund says doctors have suffered with increased medical liability costs because the bill did not pass in time to renew the assistance program this year. Senator Mike Stack, a Democrat on the banking and insurance committee, says he and his colleagues have been working for months to reach a compromise.

Stack: I’m optimistic we’re going to vote this thing and we’re going to pass it and more folks are going to be able to afford health insurance in Pennsylvania.

Lawmakers return to the capital the week of September 15th.

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• Health insurance bill continues to meet resistance in PA State Senate
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