A group of Democratic lawmakers wants to bring universal, state-run health care to Pennsylvania.
During a news briefing Monday afternoon in Harrisburg, Philadelphia state Sen. Nikil Saval said the need for a single-payer system “could hardly be more urgent than it is right now.”
Over the past year, following the expiration of enhanced federal tax credits, more than 200,000 people have canceled their coverage through Pennie, the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace, including nearly half of city residents previously enrolled.
The Pennsylvania Insurance Department announced in mid-September that 2027 rates would be increasing about 16% for individuals and 10% for small business plans.
State officials have also projected that more than 73,000 Philadelphians could lose Medicaid when new work requirements go into effect in January, in accordance with H.R. 1, or the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Additionally, the push for universal health care comes ahead of a general election when all state representatives and half of senators will be on the ballot.
“No Pennsylvanian should ever have to choose between their health and their family’s financial survival,” Rep. Greg Scott, of Montgomery County, said.
Saval and Scott last month introduced identical bills establishing an Office of Healthcare to oversee the single-payer system, known at the federal level as “Medicare for all.”
The initiative would be funded through a 7.5% payroll tax for employees and a 2.5% income tax on workers. While hefty, the levy would be far less than most people pay for premiums currently, backers said. No deductibles, copayments, coinsurance or other cost-sharing arrangement would be permitted under the plan.
In a politically divided Harrisburg, the bills appear unlikely to pass.
“Each and every victory that working people have secured was said to be impossible until it became inevitable,” Saval said.
Health care advocates say it is important to get legislators on the record and find out where they stand on a single-payer system.
Locally, the proposals have been formally sponsored by Sens. Christine Tartaglione (Philadelphia), Art Haywood (Philadelphia/Montgomery), Katie Muth (Berks/Chester/Montgomery), Carolyn Comitta (Chester), Timothy Kearney (Delaware) and Amanda M. Cappelletti (Delaware/Mongtomey) and Reps. Ben Waxman (Philadelphia), Joe Webster (Montgomery), Joe Hohenstein (Philadelphia), Chris Rabb (Philadelphia), Nancy Guenst (Montgomery), Dan Williams (Chester), Elizabeth Fiedler (Philadelphia), Tarik Khan (Philadelphia), Ed Neilson (Philadelphia), Gina Curry (Philadelphia), Darisha Parker (Philadelphia), Malcolm Kenyatta (Philadelphia), Melissa Shusterman (Chester), Chris Pielli (Chester) and Benjamin Sanchez (Montgomery).
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