Protect Access to Health Care - Help Prevent Local Hospital Closures
URGE YOUR SENATOR TO SUPPORT HB2344
As people of faith, we must heed the call to attend to the needs of our neighbor and also to envision boldly what we might accomplish together, with God's help. - ELCA Social Statement on Health Care: Our Shared Endeavor (2003)
Hospital closures are affecting communities across Pennsylvania. Closures can harm communities by reducing the number of hospital beds, emergency services, labor and delivery services, diagnostic testing and imaging services, and laboratory services available within a reasonable distance. They can lead to patients losing the doctors and healthcare providers they trust most with their care when a hospital closes. And they can mean that patients who need lifesaving care can no longer get it in time.
While there are many factors and unique situations that lead to a full or partial closure of a hospital, more than 90% of closures are preceded by a merger, acquisition, or change in ownership. LAMPa's partners at the Pennsylvania Health Access Network (PHAN) reviewed all full or partial hospital closures in Pennsylvania over the past 20 years. Thirty of the 33 hospital closures in the past 20 years, and 14 of 15 closures in the past 5 years have been preceded by a merger, acquisition, or change in ownership of the hospital.
This year is on track to be one of the busiest years yet for hospital acquisitions and closures with 4 new partial closures, 3 new acquisitions completed, and 8 new acquisitions pending.
HB 2344 just passed out of committee in the PA Senate on a unanimous, bipartisan basis! This bill will address the growing problem of hospital closures and acquisitions across Pennsylvania that result in higher prices for care or communities losing access to care altogether. HB 2344 would provide increased transparency on hospital closures and acquisitions by empowering the Pennsylvania Attorney General to review proposed hospital acquisitions, gather the facts, hear from community members, and protect local communities' access to care.
Enter your information in the form to the right, and you'll be taken to an editable letter to send to your state senator to urge them to support HB2344. Please include a personal note or story about how protecting access to health care is important to you! Such notes make a difference!
