Find out what our friends & neighbors had to say about the issues that matter to the community. Read more
“Access to an abortion is a critical to reproductive health care,” Venkat said. “As an emergency physician, I signed onto this amicus brief to take a stand against this political attack on medication abortions. This lawsuit would potentially limit Americans’ access to mifepristone, one of two medications used for abortions in the U.S., creating a further crisis in women’s health care.” Read more
Grants available as of Wednesday, Oct. 11 Read more
The grant will fund rehabilitation of Marmo Park, which will include installing play equipment with required safety surface, Americans with Disabilities Act access, landscaping, project signage, and other related site improvements. Read more
Grants available as of Tuesday, Oct. 3 Read more
Town hall meeting held in Franklin Park about keeping students safe from gun violence Read more
2023-24 Grant & Resource Directory Read more
“The COVID-19 pandemic revealed both strengths and weaknesses in the state’s preparedness for public health emergencies,” said Venkat, D-Allegheny. “As an emergency physician who worked on the frontlines during this challenging time and continues to work clinically, I strongly believe that we have an obligation to all Pennsylvanians to evaluate our response and make recommendations for how we can be better prepared in the future. We must work together to improve Pennsylvania’s response to public health challenges. Through this resolution, we can save lives, respect individual liberty, and ensure Pennsylvanians are better equipped for future crises.” Read more
“As 36.6% of Pennsylvanians experience elevated cholesterol levels and elevated LDL-C contributes to the risk of cardiovascular disease, it’s important to me, as both an emergency physician and a legislator, that we inform the public about the risks of high cholesterol levels,” said Venkat, D-Allegheny. “With this resolution, we can educate Pennsylvanians so they may improve their overall health.” Read more
Grants available as of Wednesday, Sept. 27 Read more
As an emergency medicine resident in the early 2000s, I cared for a patient in her early 60s with back pain. Prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), approximately 16%opens in a new tab or window of emergency department patients were uninsured. Often their issues were of low acuity, again because they had no other place to see a physician. I assumed that to be the case with this patient, that I would treat her presumably musculoskeletal back pain, and discharge her. However, while treating her, I noticed she struggled to walk and clutched her gown across her chest. It was the clutching that really struck me as unusual. Read more
“While sexually violent predators must register under Megan’s Law, they may live where they choose, potentially putting children at risk,” Venkat said. “My legislation would change that and align Pennsylvania with a number of other states that enacted more robust residential restrictions, bolstering community safety and security, especially for our children.” Read more
“As a recent example of the danger with algorithm-driven health insurance decision making, Cigna denied more than 300,000 claims, and health care professionals employed by Cigna only reviewed the cases for approximately 1.2 seconds each over a period of two months in 2022, which is unethical,” Venkat said. “With professionals spending approximately 1.2 seconds on a case and subsequently issuing rapid denials based on algorithmic decision making, individuals may receive unexpected bills for medically necessary treatments. It is time to regulate AI in health insurance claims processes that may only accelerate such dangerous abdication of claims review responsibilities.” Read more
“In the Town of McCandless, more than $1.6 million will make our roads safer for the residents and all those driving through the town,” Venkat said. “These grants will assist with improving signal equipment along the town’s roads.” Read more
As part of the state’s budget, funding will increase to $4.34 million for Avonworth School District, $7.69 million for Hampton School District and $17.26 million for North Allegheny School District, making a 10.7 percent increase, 5.5 increase and 8.3 increase in investments for the three school districts within the 30th Legislative District. It also allocates $100 million in unspent federal COVID-19 relief funds to provide grants for mental health services at schools. Read more
“By establishing the Medical Debt Relief Program, we can alleviate medical debt for working Pennsylvanians, improve health care institutions and providers’ finances and reduce the costs for all Pennsylvanians,” Venkat said. “As an emergency physician, I’ve witnessed patients delay medical care due to the rising cost of health care, to the point of dying as a result. Through this bill, it is my hope that we can alleviate Pennsylvanians’ medical debt so that they may receive the health care they need.” Read more
“Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States,” Venkat said. “It keeps thousands of patients from seeking necessary medical care. I’ve personally seen patients who died as a result of medical debt and not seeking necessary medical care, and so this is a real opportunity for us to help so many working Pennsylvanians.” Read more
A piece I wrote recently that challenges the belief that bipartisanship is impossible in state legislatures. Read more
"The idea here is that with a small state appropriation, we can give the resources to an entity like RIP Medical Debt (a 501 charity focused on the elimination of personal medical debt) that can partner with willing health systems to purchase distressed debt and then forgive it. That’s a win-win for everybody. It’s a win for patients because the program is targeted toward those whose household income is up to 400% of the federal poverty level or whose medical debt exceeds 5% of their annual income — which, conservatively, is up to 1 million Pennsylvanians. It’s a win for the health care systems because they will be able to collect some small amount of what is largely unrecoverable debt." Read more
Venkat, the only physician in the General Assembly, will now work with colleagues for full House passage and enactment into law. Read more
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