HARRISBURG, PA (July 6, 2023) – Today, the principal partners of Early Learning Pennsylvania (ELPA), a statewide coalition of advocates focused on supporting young Pennsylvanians from birth to age five, issued the following statements regarding House Bill 611 that still awaits the signature of the Senate President Pro Tempore and finally Governor Shapiro to become […]
Pa. will require hospitals to track pregnancy and birth-related health complications
The Pennsylvania Department of Health will soon be required to track the health issues that mothers go through during pregnancy and birth, as part of an effort to address the state’s high maternal death rates. The General Assembly sent a bill to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk last week that would require the Department of Health […]
90K Pennsylvanians have lost Medicaid coverage since the end of pandemic-era rule
Since the end of a pandemic-era policy, roughly 20% of Pennsylvanians who had to renew their Medical Assistance coverage have lost it, according to data the state shares with the federal government. Slightly more than half of those people lost the health insurance coverage because they were no longer eligible, likely because their income was too […]
Pennsylvania’s surging childcare costs
Childcare is becoming so expensive that some Pennsylvania parents have quit jobs or left the workforce entirely to care for their children. Driving the news: The average cost of center-based daycare in Pennsylvania in 2021 was $11,346, amounting to 10 percent of a married couple’s median income, according to a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. […]
Pa. advocates call for education spending alongside release of ‘Kids Count’ report
The annual Kids Count examines children’s health, economic security and education. The latest edition, released Wednesday, confirmed what many educators, parents and child advocates already knew: The COVID-19 pandemic set back learning among the Commonwealth’s kids. “The long term impacts of the pandemic are not going to be one-time,” said Kari King, president and CEO of Pennsylvania […]
