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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | August 21, 2019 03:47 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Kristine C. Howard and Rep. Liz Hanbidge |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Requiring insurance companies to cover EpiPen injections for children with allergies |
| More than 100,000 Pennsylvania children suffer from food or insect allergies, and over 1,000 of these children have an allergy so severe that an exposure could be fatal. Although many insurance companies do cover EpiPen injections, it has come to our attention that many low-cost short-term insurance plans that low-income families rely on do not cover these prescriptions for our children. It is unacceptable that any child be denied access to this lifesaving intervention. We have all read the stories over the past few years of Pennsylvania families facing the rising cost of medicines and the increasing frustration over exorbitant prices of prescription drugs. Unfortunately, very little action has been taken at the federal level on the pharmaceutical industry to control these rising costs. Our current political environment has also bred uncertainty as it relates to healthcare access and affordability. What may be covered today, may not be covered tomorrow. The Governor of Illinois just signed the first law in the country requiring any state-regulated health insurance company to cover the cost of doctor-prescribed medically necessary epinephrine pens for children under age 18. We’re introducing this bill to make Pennsylvania the second state in the U.S. to require coverage of this lifesaving intervention for children across our commonwealth. We hope you’ll join us. |
Introduced as HB1843