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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Tim Seip |
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House passes two Seip health-care reform bills
HARRISBURG, Feb. 13 – State Rep. Tim Seip today won unanimous House passage of two bills he introduced to make health care more accessible and affordable in Pennsylvania. Seip's bills (H.B.s 1999 and 2051) would further expand the allowable scope of practice for physician assistants.
"As a licensed health-care professional myself, I'm very pleased to be able to have a positive impact on our health-care system. These bills could save time and money for many patients," said Seip, a longtime social worker who serves as secretary of the House Health and Human Services Committee.
The two bills would allow physician assistants in Pennsylvania to perform several new tasks, such as ordering durable medical equipment for patients and ordering referrals to physical therapy, respiratory and occupational therapy and dietitians. The legislation mirrors a recently passed law that gave the same abilities to certified registered nurse practitioners.
Both bills now move to the Senate for consideration.
Seip also has worked for health-care reform by voting last May for bipartisan legislation that would protect patients. That bill would ban forced overtime for nurses and other patient-care workers in hospitals and other health-care facilities. The House of Representatives passed that bill (H.B. 834) by a vote of 166-31.
The forced-overtime ban would provide exceptions in the case of emergencies and when health-care workers are required to stay beyond their regular shift to complete a patient procedure. That legislation remains in the Senate Labor and Industry Committee.
Attention Radio News Directors: an actuality from Rep. Seip will be available later today by calling 1-800-452-3001. Enter PA125 (7-2-125) and the pound sign (#) at the menu prompt to get today’s sound. You can also download the sound in .mp3 format by visiting www.pahouse.com/mediacenter.
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