HARRISBURG — State Rep. Matt Baker, chairman of the House Health Committee, has authored three bills passed by the House this week to ensure individuals across the commonwealth have access to health care and safeguards are in place to ensure optimal care.
“As chairman of the House Health Committee, I continue to be an advocate of public health and making sure the state is doing everything it can to ensure people have access to the best possible care,” Baker, R-Wellsboro, said.
To ensure greater safety for those who may have a severe allergic reaction, Baker authored House Bill 126 to permit various establishments to have non-patient specific epinephrine auto-injectors available for emergency use.
Establishments that would be authorized to obtain epi-pens under the legislation include recreation camps, colleges, restaurants, sports arenas, amusement parks and day care centers. These facilities would not be required to have a supply of epi-pens, but they would be permitted to have them if they wanted. Those that do acquire epi-pens would be required to have an individual in charge of storage, maintenance and general oversight and use of epi-pens complete a training program offered by the Department of Health.
Also included in the legislation is a Good Samaritan clause to protect entities, health care practitioners and employees from liability if they are acting in good faith when administering the medication.
“By having epi-pens readily available at these types of places, individuals who may have an allergic reaction are more apt to get the help they need in a more timely manner,” Baker said. “Some allergic reactions can have a fatal effect if not treated promptly, especially in children who may not be aware of all of their allergies yet.”
In order to ensure rural and low-income populations have access to quality health care, Baker also introduced — and the House passed — House Bill 644, which would ensure greater funding opportunities for nonprofit health care centers.
“In May 2013, the Legislature passed the Community-Based Health Care Act to direct funds to support nonprofit health care centers in the Commonwealth,” Baker said. “To qualify as a health care center for this act, the facility must provide care to medically underserved areas with a patient population living below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Many of these facilities are federally qualified health centers, known as FQHCs.”
Baker’s legislation would remove an artificial 25 percent cap on funds for FQHCs.
The House this week also approved House Bill 114, which would require the non-custodial parent of children for whom Medical Assistance is sought to enroll their children in their own health insurance plan before the Commonwealth would pay for medical care for them.
House Bills 126, 644 and 114 now go to the Senate for consideration.
