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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Josh Shapiro |
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Shapiro bill to extend MCARE approved by Insurance Committee
HARRISBURG, Nov. 20 – Legislation sponsored by Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-Montgomery, to extend Pennsylvania’s Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error abatement program was reported out of the House Insurance Committee today and will next go to the House floor for consideration.
Shapiro’s proposal (H.B. 1973) would extend the MCARE abatement program through 2008. The legislature created the abatement program to assist health-care providers with the high cost of medical malpractice insurance coverage. Specifically, the program provides a 100 percent abatement of the MCARE liability insurance premiums for high-risk specialists, including emergency physicians, orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons and ob/gyns, and a 50 percent abatement for all others. Under Shapiro’s bill, a health-care provider would not be eligible for the abatement if he or she fails to pay his or her state taxes and if he or she fails to participate in a Commonwealth-sponsored independent drug information service session.
“It’s crucial that we extend this program, not just for doctors and the medical community, but for all Pennsylvanians,” Shapiro explained. “The abatement program helps stabilize insurance rates and keep doctors practicing in Pennsylvania while ensuring access to health care for all of us.”
Shapiro’s bill has wide bipartisan support with close to 90 co-sponsors.
Shapiro is deputy speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and represents the 153rd Legislative District in Montgomery County. For more information about Shapiro, please visit www.pahouse.com/shapiro.
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CONTACT: Mike Storm |