Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Press Statement on PA Senate Banking and Insurance Committee Vote: SB 3 Abortion Ban

As a follow-up to yesterday's blog on the vote in the Pennsylvania Senate Banking and Insurance Committee vote, here is a copy of the press statement I sent out this morning to media across the state.



In case you use a screen reader and it can't read the graphics, here's the text of the release:

Pennsylvania State Senate Pandering to the Right


Why was this your very first vote of the session?

Bellefonte, PA, January 26, 2011: On Tuesday, January 25, 2011, the PA Senate Banking and Insurance Committee voted out SB 3. This bill, sponsored by Senator Don White (R-Armstrong, Butler, Clearfield, Indiana, and Westmoreland Counties) bans abortion coverage in the health care exchanges except in cases where the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest, or to “avert” the death of the woman.

This was the very first vote any of these Senators cast during the new 2011-2012 legislative session. It was also the only vote taken during this committee meeting. The final vote was 12 (all 9 R's and 3 D's) for and 2 against (both D's).

This bill dramatically changes the status quo. If it becomes law, it will leave women worse off than before federal health care reform took place. Currently between 80 and 87% of all health-insurance plans cover abortions. Banning abortion coverage in the state health insurance exchange would leave women worse off than they were before health care reform began.

Sue Frietsche, Senior Staff Attorney at the Women’s Law Project noted that this bill might also be unconstitutional. In her public statement after the vote, she said, “In the Medicaid context, Pennsylvania courts have already ruled that it’s unconstitutional to make rape survivors jump through the kind of insulting and burdensome hoops this bill would create. The bill would require rape survivors to “personally” report the crime and identify the assailant, if known, in order for their health insurance to cover an abortion procedure.”

What are they thinking!?

Senator White – the prime sponsor as well as chair of this committee -- explained his reason for making this the first vote in committee. He said, “I originally introduced this bill last fall. I’ll admit timing is suspicious. However, I’ve been asked by certain members [of the Senate]- to get this to the floor. I’m not going to wait for the Feds to set the exchanges up. This will be voted on today.”

None of the Senators voting yes explained why they voted yes or why they did not ask for a delay in the vote, even though a couple of them expressed concern about the “seeming rush to vote.” For example, Senator Patricia Vance (R-Cumberland and York Counties) said, “This vote is premature. I’m willing to support the bill but we will just have to do this over once we know how the exchanges will work and how much money is involved [emphasis added].”

Of the two Senators that spoke out against the measure during the hearing, Senator Anthony Williams (D-Delaware and Philadelphia Counties) may have best expressed his frustration. He said, "There are larger issues right now. I would hate to have this as my first vote [of the new session]. This [vote] isn’t on a substantive issue. We should be holding off on these [types of] bills. We may have a testosterone problem here."

This vote is a pandering, political statement. Senators should not be focusing on social, hot-button issues. As Senator Vance and Williams clearly stated, this vote is premature. Pennsylvania voters are not interested in reopening the debate around abortion. Our lawmakers should focus on improving our health care system and stop using women’s health as a divisive issue.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

PA Senate Pandering to the Right

Why was this your very first vote of the session?


The PA Senate Banking and Insurance Committee voted out SB 3 this afternoon. This bill bans abortion coverage in the health care exchanges. This bill dramatically changes the status quo and will leave women worse off than before federal health care reform took place. Currently between 80 and 87% of all health insurance plans cover abortions. This guts women's reproductive health care.

Many of these legislators have said that they believe that government shouldn't restrict access to you health care choices. Yet this is exactly what their vote has and will do.

This is the VERY FIRST VOTE ANY of these members have cast this session. It was also the ONLY vote taken during this committee meeting. The final vote was 12 (all 9 R's and 3 D's) for and 2 against (both D's).

What are you thinking!? This vote is a pandering, political statement. Senators should not be focusing on this. It is premature. You are taking a position contrary to your constituency and this vote will not be forgotten. Issues of economics are much more serious and should be the focus.

I think Senator Anthony Williams (D) put it best when he explained his no vote. He said, "There are larger issues right now. I would hate to have this as my first vote [of the new session]. This [vote] isn’t on a substantive issue. We should be holding off on these [types of] bills."

Friday, January 21, 2011

Speaking Out, Speaking Up for Abortion Rights in a Safe, Legal Environment

Bellefonte, PA, January 21, 2011, 6:30 p.m.: On Saturday, Jan. 22, the Pennsylvania NOW (National Organization for Women) Education Fund will show a movie of women speaking out for abortion rights. The program will also feature National NOW Foundation Vice President Erin Matson and Pennsylvania NOW Education Fund President Joanne Tosti-Vasey speaking on the status of reproductive rights to commemorate and celebrate the 38th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision affirming women's constitutional right to abortion.

“We are celebrating 38 years of Supreme Court recognition that the Constitution protects women's right to legal abortion. But not a day goes by without threats to our reproductive freedom," said NOW Foundation Vice President Erin Matson.

This anniversary comes at the same time as the indictment of Dr. Gosnell and several of his staff members for the alleged brutal, unsafe and illegal abortion practice he conducted in West Philadelphia. “Pennsylvania NOW applauds the work of the grand jury convened by Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams in this case, and if true, we believe that women, predominately low-income women of color, have been the victims of some serious, horrible crimes," said Pennsylvania NOW Education Fund President Joanne Tosti-Vasey.

The grand jury’s report placed partial blame on the Pennsylvania Department of Health for the “failure to ensure the health and safety of patients in abortion clinics” as they do for “patients receiving medical care from other providers.”

This failure to follow regulations, the stigmatization that surrounds abortion and the lack of funding of abortions for low-income women can lead to the lack of access to safe, legal abortion services for women. Without access to insurance funding for reproductive services, women may end up in the back alleys or with unsafe abortions as allegedly occurred here. This will be part of the discussion on Saturday night.

WHAT: Airing of documentary “I Had an Abortion” and speeches commemorating the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade .

WHO: Erin Matson, National NOW Foundation Vice President Action and Joanne Tosti-Vasey, Pennsylvania NOW Education Fund President

WHEN: 7:00 p.m., Saturday, January 22, 2011

WHERE: 160 Willard Building, the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA

SPONSORED BY: Pennsylvania NOW Education Fund, Ni-Ta-Nee NOW, PSU Department of Women’s Studies, PSU Center for Women Students, and the PSU Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance

Saturday, January 15, 2011

43,000 Pennsylvanians Losing Health Care Insurance - Please Take Action

Incoming Pennsylvania's Governor Tom Corbett's (R) transition team has announced that the new administration will allow adultBasic to expire at the end of next month. AdultBasic is Pennsylvania's health insurance program for adults with a low income who who do not have health insurance and do not qualify for Medicare or Medicaid.  Most often these are people with preexisting conditions that can not afford insurance in the private market and who are not covered under a plan provided by their employer.

The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center has summarized the issue.  Here's the email they sent to me.  Please take action here and here a.s.a.p. to protect access to health care for the 43,000 Pennsylvanian adults who will lose their health care insurance next month if Governor-Elect Corbett goes through with his plan to allow AdultBasic to expire.

Incoming Corbett Administration Favors Ending adultBasic


Plan will likely add thousands to the ranks of the uninsured

The clock is ticking on a critical health insurance program that provides nearly 42,000 Pennsylvanians with affordable health coverage.

Pennsylvania’s adultBasic insurance program will end on February 28 unless swift action is taken to resolve a funding shortfall. The Commonwealth is preparing to send coverage termination notices to the thousands of Pennsylvanians who rely on adultBasic, which provides affordable health insurance for working individuals.

The situation reached a critical point this week when Governor-elect Tom Corbett’s transition team signaled support for a plan that would allow adultBasic to lapse. Those who lose their insurance would be given the option of enrolling in “Special Care,” a more expensive health plan operated by the state’s Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans.

“Special Care” was created by the Blues in 1992 as a low-cost, limited benefit health plan. Premiums are as much as 400% higher than adultBasic premiums and benefits are much more limited — restricting patients to four doctor visits per year and covering only catastrophic hospital care and limited outpatient procedures.

This is bad news for many of the Pennsylvanians enrolled in adultBasic — like Roseann Davis, a mother of two from Bucks County who suffers from multiple conditions, including Crohn's disease, colitis and glaucoma. She termed the plan — with its bigger price tag and more limited benefits — “a death sentence” for her.

For the past five years, the state’s Blue Cross plans have contributed funding toward adultBasic as part of their charitable mission, but that funding agreement ended on December 31, 2010. Despite making those contributions, the Blues saw their cumulative surpluses increase from $3.5 billion in 2002 to $5.6 billion in 2009 — growing more than two-and-a-half times faster than wages in Pennsylvania.

During the gubernatorial campaign, Tom Corbett said he supported a six-month extension of adultBasic, which would keep the program funded through June 2011. That would have given the new administration time to decide what to do about the expiration of the Blues’ funding agreement. But in recent news reports, Corbett transition spokesman Kevin Harley has said adultBasic is “not sustainable.” In a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story this week Mr. Harley said: “There's no funding for it. If there's no funding for it, the program doesn't exist.”

The Blues could fully fund adultBasic, without any state funds, with less than 3% of their combined surpluses. Rather than taking away affordable health insurance for the nearly 42,000 Pennsylvanians enrolled in adultBasic, policymakers should require the Blues to continue their contributions to adultBasic to fulfill their charitable mission and preserve their tax-exempt status. Legislation that would have extended the insurance assessment through 2014 was considered in the state House last year.

The issue has prompted a dispute between the outgoing Rendell administration and incoming Corbett administration, but this political bickering overlooks the core of the issue. Pennsylvania can sustain adultBasic, with tobacco settlement dollars, continued assessments on the Blues under the Community Health Reinvestment Agreement and allocating other state dollars, to maintain this critical health insurance lifeline.
If you’re interested in taking action in support of adultBasic, our partner organization, the Pennsylvania Health Access Network, has put together an action page here and a petition already signed by more than 4,000 people.

Roe v. Wade Anniverary 2011 -- Chapter Actions & Events

Celebrate with your local NOW chapter! Don't see anything near you? Find your local chapter and contact them to see what they have planned.

Philadelphia: Raising Women's Voices Coalition Outdoor Visibility Event


Friday January 21 • 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Location: Center City, Philadelphia (Exact location TBD)

Celebrate the 38th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and urge our incoming legislators to protect women's continued access to safe and legal abortion. RSVP here.
Penn State: Speaking Out, Speaking Up for Abortion Rights (with National NOW Action VP Erin Matson)

Saturday, January 22 • 7:00 p.m.

Location: 160 Willard Building, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802

This is the 38th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision establishing a woman's right to have an abortion. See the movie I Had an Abortion and hear Erin Matson and Joanne Tosti-Vasey, Pennsylvania NOW Education Fund President, speak out and up on: the new health care insurance law, the lack of medical coverage, and choice; the current status of reproductive rights in the U.S. and Pennsylvania; and what you can do to help ensure access to full reproductive health care.  Co-sponsored by the Pennsylvania NOW Education Fund, Ni-Ta-Nee NOW, PSU Center for Women Students, PSU Department of Women's Studies, and PSU Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Speaking Out, Speaking Up for Abortion Rights

This is the 38th Anniversary of the US Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision establishing a woman’s right to have an abortion. See the movie “I Had an Abortion” and hear Erin Matson, NOW Foundation Vice-President Action and Joanne Tosti-Vasey, Pennsylvania NOW Education Fund President speak out and up on:
  • The new health care insurance law, the lack of medical coverage, and choice;
  • The current status of reproductive rights in the US and Pennsylvania; and
  • What you can do to help ensure access to full reproductive health care.
Date: Saturday, January 22, 2011
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: 160 Willard Building, PSU, University Park, PA
Who:
  • Erin Matson, National NOW Foundation Vice-President Action
  • Joanne Tosti-Vasey, Pennsylvania NOW Education Fund President
Sponsored by:
Pennsylvania NOW Education Fund
Ni-Ta-Nee NOW
PSU Center for Women Students
PSU Women’s Studies Department
Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, PSU Chapter