Monday, July 1, 2013

PA Senate votes to expand Medicare; Bill's future in House uncertain

In a 40-10 vote, the AP (7/1, Levy) reports, “The Pennsylvania state Senate approved legislation to require Gov. Tom Corbett to seek federal approval for an expansion of Medicaid eligibility to hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians, although it faces death in the more conservative House of Representatives where Republican leaders have vowed not to bring it to a floor vote.” The AP adds, “All 23 Democrats voted for it, as did 17 of 27 Republican senators,” including Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson) and Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware). The AP notes, “Corbett has been silent on the bill, although Senate Republican and Democratic leaders say they negotiated the amendment with Corbett’s office, and wrote certain conditions into it to make it more amenable to him, as well as Republican lawmakers who might otherwise oppose the health care law.”