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Critical Alert on Statewide Healthcare

Act NOW!

House Bill 1841—introduced by Rep. Dan Surra and 57 other members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives—establishes the mechanism for statewide health care for public school employees. The House Education Committee voted overwhelmingly in support of the bill. Now we need your help to ensure that the bill is considered by the full House of Representatives as soon as possible following the Legislature’s return to session on March 10.

HB 1841 is essential to ensure that public school employees and their families—PSEA and other union members—have affordable, quality health care.

Think about it....

• No more contract impasses over the cost of rising health care and who has to pay for it.
• All of our education employees in one health care plan.
• School districts could save administrative costs related to their health care plans, applying those savings to programs and staffing.

Your voice is necessary to educate legislators and to keep HB 1841 moving through the legislative process!

What you can do to support statewide health care:

1) Visit your state representative in the district office before March 10 (when the Legislature returns to Harrisburg for session).

2) E-mail or call the district office in support of HB 1841 if you can’t schedule the visit. If you e-mail your representative, please also cc: your state senator. (Although the Senate companion bill to HB 1841, Senate Bill 1140, is not currently moving in the Senate, it is important to keep senators informed about why they should support statewide health care.) You can easily e-mail your legislators from PSEA’s online Legislative Action Center at http://capwiz.com/psea/home.

Talking points on HB 1841 for your visit or contact:

• House Bill 1841 could save taxpayers millions of dollars. PSEA estimates a 7%-20% cost savings if HB 1841 is enacted.
• Over the past decade, the increases in health insurance premiums have far outpaced inflation. By placing the Commonwealth’s public school employees in a single risk pool, the increases on a year-to-year basis can be significantly lowered.
• These savings will free up local tax dollars that can be used for educational programs.
• A statewide health care system would remove one of the most contentious issues from the bargaining table. This would mean fewer strikes.
• The legislation sets up a board to study potential cost savings and to make recommendations on how to set up the new system. It does not mandate any one particular system, but rather establishes a board that will evaluate options based on cost savings and quality of benefits.

For additional talking points to use in your contacts with legislators, click here.

For more detailed information about HB 1841, click here or contact the Government Relations staff at (800) 944-7732, Ext. 7041.