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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. John Pallone |
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Pallone appointed to key health-care advisory committee
HARRISBURG, Dec. 2 – House Speaker Keith McCall has appointed state Rep. John Pallone, D-Westmoreland/Armstrong, to serve on the Primary Health Care Practitioners Program Advisory Committee.
The panel was created under the law that created the Children's Health Insurance Program (Act 113 of 1992) to increase the number of doctors in rural and inner-city areas.
"Rural and inner-city residents often have a hard time accessing quality health care because of a lack of primary care physicians serving those areas," Pallone said. "The purpose of this panel is to recruit more doctors to set up shop in rural communities and inner-city areas."
The panel will work with the Pennsylvania Health Department to identify medically underserved areas of the Commonwealth and find ways to recruit and retain doctors to serve those areas utilizing federal, local and private funding.
Improving access to health care is a priority for Pallone. In July, he introduced H.B. 1846, which would create a community-based health-care program.
Under the bill, the state Health Department would offer grants and the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare would offer payments to community-based health-care clinics. The funds would be used to:
· Expand and improve health-care access and services such as preventative care; chronic care and disease management; prenatal, obstetric, postpartum and newborn care; dental treatment; and behavioral health and pharmacy services.
· Provide an effective alternative to utilizing hospital emergency rooms for non-emergency medical treatments.
· Encourage collaborative relationships among community-based health-care clinics, hospitals and other health-care providers.
House Bill 1846, which has bipartisan support in the House, is currently being considered by the House Health and Human Services Committee.