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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
| State Rep. Deberah Kula
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Kula proposes legislation
to ensure coverage for preventive care, end drunk hunting
HARRISBURG, March 1 – State Rep. Deberah Kula has introduced two bills aimed at ensuring public health and safety.
House Bill 478 would implement the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's requirement that health insurance plans provide coverage for certain preventive services, such as mammograms and colonoscopies, and the federal reform law's prohibition of charging a deductible, co-pay or coinsurance for such services.
"Preventive services allow doctors to catch a health issue before it becomes a health crisis," said Kula, D-Fayette/Westmoreland. "Unfortunately, lack of insurance coverage for preventive health services, or high co-pays and deductibles, has made it financially difficult for people to have such regular health screenings."
Kula noted that Americans use preventive services at about half the recommended rate. Yet chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes – which are responsible for seven of 10 deaths each year and account for 75 percent of the nation's health spending – are often preventable.
Kula's other piece of legislation, H.B. 860, would lower the blood alcohol content for hunting under the influence from its current level of 0.10 to 0.08. The bill would also shorten the window of time for a blood test to be done to determine BAC from three hours to two hours, the same as the Vehicle Code, the Fish and Boat Code and as determined by court rulings.
"Hunting while under the influence of alcohol or drugs could have tragic results. Hunters share the woods with many people and we need to ensure everyone's safety," Kula said.
The bill is identical to Kula's H.B. 1523 introduced last legislative session that passed unanimously in the House, but the state Senate failed to take action on.