Proposal to bring universal single-payer coverage to Pennsylvania enters House committee

Two weeks after circulating a memo announcing his intent to introduce a bill into the Pennsylvania legislature that would bring single-payer healthcare to the state, two Democratic lawmakers have made good on their promise.

On Tuesday, House Bill 2763 was introduced in the state House of Representatives by Greg Scott (D-Montgomery), with companion efforts being spearheaded in the Pennsylvania Senate by Sen. Nikil Saval (D), who represents Philadelphia.

Officially, the bill is described as an effort to establish “the Office of Health Care for the purpose of creating a universal single-payer healthcare system,” outlining the necessary steps of empowering the office with specific duties, establishing a board to manage the state's insurance program, and detailing how the effort would be funded.

On that note, Pennsylvania residents, as those who work in the state, would be subject to a new payroll tax. However, when writing a letter outlining his vision for the bill, Saval said the tax burden would likely “far” outweigh the cost of insurance premiums for the “majority of Pennsylvanians.”

Per the wording of HB 2763, the tax burden would be split between employers and employees, with each making a contribution into a fund that would be specifically used to reimburse care and cover residents of the state.

Every resident of Pennsylvania would be covered by the insurance program, assuming it were to become law. Further, non-residents who work 20 hours or more per week in the state would also be eligible to enroll.

All healthcare services, based on state regulations for necessity, would be fully covered without patients having to worry about copays or deductibles.

A huge motivation for the bill, Saval said, was the excessive amount of debt currently held by Pennsylvanians—totaling “more than $1.8 billion,” which the senator attributes to an “ill-equipped system” that inefficiently manages healthcare resources.

Both Saval and Scott have expressed concerns over the impact the stress of medical debt has on people of the commonwealth, in addition to how that strain correlates to their struggle to access and pay for necessary patient care services.

“Health and wellness are determining factors in quality of life, longevity, happiness, and family success,” Representative Scott said during the bill’s introduction. “Rising premium costs are forcing many hardworking families to drop their health insurance coverage, putting not only their health at risk but also their financial stability.”

“Without insurance coverage, one unexpected health event can bankrupt a family.”