September 29, 2026 · AGING AND OLDER ADULT SERVICES · 5,945 words · 7 speakers · 190 segments
. Thank you. Thank you. Good morning everyone I'd like to call this voting meeting of the House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee to order.
Stephanie, will you please take the roll?
Chair Madden. Here. Representative Spenum. Borowski. Carroll. Designation. Serato. Designation. Gogenauer. Harris. Designation. Kahn. Kozorowski. Designation. Parker. Designation. Powell. Designation. Rakopiak. Designation. Rivera. Designation. Smith-Wadell. Chair Mencer? Here.
Representatives Brown?
Designation?
Day?
Designation?
Blyme? Jones?
Designation?
Kozak?
Designation?
Labs?
Designation?
Marcel?
Designation?
Margettis?
Here.
Nelson?
Rosal?
Schlegel?
Here.
You have a quorum.
Thank you. Good morning. We have several bills today addressing different aspects of women's health and healthy aging. To begin, the chair calls up House Bill 1244, printers number 1393. Chuck, would you please explain the bill?
Sorry, we got reshuffled there. House Bill 1244, printers number 1393, offered by Representative Hambidge, would provide for insurance coverage of pelvic floor therapy, including diagnosis and treatment of pelvic floor dysfunction and related conditions.
Thank you. Rep. Hambidge, would you like to speak on the bill? Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to the members of the committee for looking at these important issues today. Pelvic floor dysfunction affects people across all stages of life, particularly older women, and can cause significant pain, mobility limitations, incontinence, and other long-term health complications. Yet access to appropriate care and treatment can often depend on whether care is covered. House Bill 1244 helps remove that barrier. The bill requires coverage for a range of treatments, including pelvic floor therapy, biofeedback, trigger point therapy, electrical stimulation, post-operative care following prostatectomies and hysterectomies, and postpartum pelvic floor assessments. This reflects the range of approaches providers use to treat these conditions and ensures that patients can access medically appropriate care without facing prohibitive out-of-pocket costs. The bill also establishes clear definitions of pelvic floor dysfunction and the conditions and treatments covered. This bill recognizes that pelvic floor dysfunction is a health condition that deserves to be diagnosed and treated like any other. Thank you. Thank you On the bill the chair calls up Amendment 04312 for consideration Chuck, please explain the amendment.
Amendment 04312 offered by Representative Maureen Madden. This amendment makes multiple technical changes to clarify the bill's coverage requirements and applicable policies and adds an effective date for the MA-CHIP coverage.
Thank you. Is there any discussion on the amendment? Seeing no further discussion, the chair calls for a vote on Amendment 04312. Chair Madden? Yes. Representative Spenum? Borowski? Carroll? Designation. Serato. Designation. Yes. Kogenauer. Harris. Designation. Yes. Hahn. Kozorowski. Designation. Yes. Parker. Designation. Yes. Powell. Designation. Yes. Rokowiak. Designation. Yes. Rivera. Designation. Yes. Smith-Wadell. Chair Menser. Yes.
Representatives Brown.
Designation, yes.
Day.
Designation, yes. Blyme. Jones. Designation, yes. Kozak. Designation, no. Labs. Marcel. Designation, yes. Margettis. Nelson. Nelson. Rosal. Schlegel. the amendment is adopted thank you on the bill as amended we've heard that conditions affecting pelvic floor function can involve urinary bowel musculoskeletal and other aspects of a person's health addressing those issues can be part of helping maintain their independence and quality of life as women age. I also appreciate that the bill recognizes the role of physical therapy and non-surgical approaches in addressing these conditions. Providing access to appropriate treatment can give patients additional options for managing problems before they become more difficult to address. Ultimately, HB 1244 is about making sure that patients have access to established services that can address pelvic floor dysfunction and related conditions. that is consistent with this committee's broader focus on prevention, access to care, and healthy aging. For those reasons, I encourage my colleagues to support HB 1244. Is there any discussion on the bill? Chair Mencer, would you like to make some remarks? Thank you, Chair Madden. I will be supporting moving these bills out of committee, and actually all four of the related bills. but I'd like to make some final comments at the final bill. Thank you. Are there any more comments on the bill? Rep Nelson? There we go Sorry about that There wasn't a mic up top. So I appreciate the opportunity for a question. Rep. Hambridge, I appreciate your work on this subject. A couple of concerns that I have with the effective date of 60 days. what might be the impact on if the entire state has to, you know, begin to provide, like the physical therapy and the medical coverage, and people are already in their benefit plans. So that 60 days is really aggressive in my mind because, you know, there's the forecast for these are the benefits that are going to be provided during this year. I'm concerned how disruptive that might be. Rep. Nelson, I really appreciate you bringing up that point. Let's talk offline whether we think an amendment would be appropriate. Yes. Thank you. And the second part of that coverage was, was there a fiscal note on this, what that cost impact will be? Because it will increase costs to the state, right, because of the MA chip component. So it's not just insurers, private insurers? I didn't hear exactly. Could you repeat that again? I'm sorry. Was there a fiscal note or an analysis of the cost impact on the state of Pennsylvania because of the MA chip aspect? No, because of the volatility of everything right now, we have to wait to get that. As of right now, there is no fiscal note. Okay, thank you. Thank you, Rob. Thank you. Is that on the bill? Chair Madden? Yes. Representative Spenum? Borowski? Carroll? Designation, yes. Serato? Designation, yes. Gogenauer? Harris? Designation, yes. Hahn? Yes. Wozorowski? designation yes Parker designation yes Powell designation yes for Copiac designation yes Rivera designation yes Smith-Wadell chair Menser yes representatives Brown yes designation day designation yes Lime Jones designation yes Kozak designation no labs Marcel designation yes Margettis Nelson Brazel Schlegel The bill is reported as amended. Thank you. The chair calls up House Bill 1346, printer's number 1585. Chuck, could you please explain the bill?
Yes, House Bill 1346, printer's number is 1585, offered by Representative Hambridge, provides for insurance coverage of hormonal and non-hormonal treatment for the management of menopausal symptoms. Thank you, Chuck.
Rep. Hembidge, would you like to speak on the bill? Yes, thank you so much. Menopause is a normal biological transplant but access to appropriate treatment can depend on a woman's insurance coverage. This bill establishes a straightforward standard. Health insurance policies issued or renewed in the Commonwealth must cover both hormonal and non-hormonal treatments for menopausal symptoms. It requires coverage for therapy to help individuals manage the physical and emotional effects that can accompany menopause, including sleep disruption, mood changes, and stress. For many women, these symptoms can significantly affect daily life and well-being, work performance, and therapy can be an important part of their care. This bill is about ensuring that women are not denied medically appropriate treatment simply because of limitations of coverage. By requiring coverage for a range of hormonal and non-hormonal and therapeutic options, This bill helps ensure that women and their health care providers can make decisions based on what's appropriate for the patient rather than what the policy happens to cover. This is an important step towards more comprehensive and equitable health care for the women across Pennsylvania. Thank you. On the bill, the chair calls up Amendment 04311 for consideration. Chuck, please explain the amendment.
Yes, Amendment 04311, offered by Representative Madden, makes a technical change to the bill's coverage requirement for menopausal treatment and removes treatment-specific language and related definitions from the bill.
Thank you. Is there any discussion on the amendment? Seeing none, Steph, will you take the roll?
Chair Madden?
Yes.
Representative Spenum?
Borowski? Carroll? designation yes Serato designation yes Gogan our Harris designation yes on was our Oski designation yes Parker designation yes Powell designation yes for Copiac designation yes Rivera designation yes Smith-Wadell chair Chair Menser? Yes. Representatives Brown? Designation, yes. Day? Designation, yes. Lime? Jones? Designation, yes. Kozak? Designation, no. Labs? Marcel? Designation, yes. Margettis? Nelson? Rosal? Slagle? The amendment is adopted. Thank you. On the ballot, we will be able to vote for the amendment. The amendment is adopted. Thank you. On the bill, from an insurance perspective, the bill establishes coverage requirements for treatments that are already available. The issue is not creating a new treatment. It is establishing coverage for treatments that may be otherwise subject to differences among health insurance plans. I also think it's important that the bill recognizes that treatment needs carry and vary from person to person. By addressing both hormonal and non-hormonal treatments, this legislation does not limit coverage to a single approach. This bill also connects with several other issues before the committee today. Menopause can intersect with areas such as bone health. I don't know that word. Okay. Do we have a physician's assistant in the house? Genitourinary I didn practice I apologize Genitourinary health which is addressed in HB 1827 HB 2545 Ultimately, HB 1346 is about recognizing menopause as part of the broader continuum of women's health and healthy aging and addressing access to treatment through insurance coverage. For those reasons, I encourage my colleagues to support HB 1346. Chair Menser? No comment. Rep Borowski? Thank you, Chair Madden. I just briefly want to first thank the maker of the bill, Representative Hambidge, and thank you for bringing this forward. As a woman who is experiencing menopause, We know a lot of times our symptoms get sloughed off, pushed aside. Anything and everything gets put into a basket of, oh, that's your perimenopausal, your menopausal, it'll be fine. I have a close family member who heard that for two years, and a lot of that I think because there is no coverage. So to me, this is preventive health care. For two years, my close family member heard this, left it off, it's menopause, it's perimenopause, and then was ended up diagnosed with cancer. So I think it's extremely important that we require the insurance companies to cover this kind of care. This is, I think, if anything, preventive care helps to prevent larger costs later, because I'll tell you this close family member has now gone through a major surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. So to me, this is a small investment in women's health on the front end to help prevent more expensive and costly care on the back end, as well as trauma and heartache and just, you know, women's overall health. So I thank you so much for this legislation. I really hope it goes through, and I would urge my colleagues for a yes vote. Thank you. Thank you, Representative. Any more discussion? Rep Gleim? Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm just going to make a general statement on all of these bills. I have a very large percentage of my constituents that are seniors. I have 10 long-term care and nursing homes in my district, which is quite a lot. But I have never had one senior come into my office asking for policy on menopause. What I do hear from my seniors is about scamming, which we have, I think, worked on in this committee, and abuse. And I would really like to focus on those main issues rather than worrying about the fiscal impact that this could have on both health care policies and to the state. So I appreciate the intent. I do. But I'm going to be a no on all the menopause bills. Thank you. Thank you Representative Kahn Thank you I just want to thank the makers of actually both of the Reps Husterman and Rep Hambis for this With all due respect to my colleague, so I am a nurse practitioner, and it is one thing to even be able to talk to your health care provider about this, let alone your state representative about this. this is an issue that affects women all across the commonwealth where and it's only more recently that they're actually having these discussions with their providers because before providers would say there's nothing i can do you don't have to deal with it there's no treatment for it even though there is men have similar issues when they're having issues with erectile dysfunction it's a very uncomfortable discussion to have even with the health care provider. So even though this is something that may not be talked with and people may not be expressing their personal stories, I can assure you that this is a very real issue for patients and we have to make sure we're removing barriers and also normalizing. That's why I put this pin on that is talking about this package of menopause bills because we have to talk about it because there are real health effects for untreated menopause symptoms. Not just sexual symptoms, but actually genitourinary symptoms and health, actual long-term chronic health issues that go because this is untreated. And so when we're able to have women to be able to have the coverage for this, because these can be very expensive. A bottle of some of these medicines can be $250 that has to be paid out of pocket. This bill, this package of bills says we're going to cover it, and I think it's important. So I just wanted to uplift it. And I mean no disrespect, but I just want to say this is a very personal issue that a lot of people do not feel comfortable talking about, not even to their own health care provider. Thank you. Thank you, Rep. Rep Nelson? Thank you, Chair. I'll try to go from here. And with respect, Rep. Hambridge, I share that same 60-day implementation concern. I look forward to working with you on the floor. Appreciate it. Thanks. Thank you. Rep. Rossell?
Thank you. And, again, I appreciate the sentiment of the bill. I just, I think all of us have a concern with, you know, we heard small investment. What is that investment? Do we have a fiscal note on this one?
No, we do not have fiscal notes as of yet. They won't get assigned until the bill actually gets kicked out of committee and goes to the appropriation committee.
Thank you. Before we take a vote, I would just like to say a couple of things. First of all, the representatives introducing these bills are by no means seniors, seniors, but they are experiencing these issues in their 30s, 40s, 50s. I'm 66, so menopause has left me a long time ago. But you know what the advice was? You know, there are pillowcases that will cool you off at night, and there are nightgowns you can wear that will cool you off at night, and maybe it won't be as big a puddle of sweat when you wake up in the morning, right? I didn't know that I had a bone density problem until I fell and broke my shoulder at 65 years old. We should be doing these screenings. We should be taking care of women health at every turn We don just have babies and then we go through menopause and then we just done We women who want to have lives who want to have careers who want to be healthy, and these treatments will help, and women deserve it. So I'm asking for an affirmative vote on this bill. Steph? Oh, okay. Go ahead. I'm sorry, Representative Roswell,
just coming back to the concept of the fiscal impacts, I just wanted to say that the exact fiscal impact for all of these bills, it depends on how much of the required coverage is already provided under the existing plans and how much additional utilization results from this legislation.
Steph, will you check roll?
Chair Madden? Yes.
Representative Spenum? Designation yes.
Borowski. Carroll. Designation yes. Serato. Designation yes. Gogenauer. Harris. Designation yes. Khan. Borowski. Designation yes. Parker. Designation yes. Powell. Designation yes. Rakopiak. Designation yes. Rivera. Designation yes. Smith-Wadell. Chair Menser. Yes. Representatives Brown. Designation yes. Day. Designation yes. Blyme. Jones. Designation yes. Kozak. Designation no. Labs. Marcel. Designation yes. Margettis. Nelson. Rosal? Schlegel? The bill is reported as amended. Thank you, Steph. Good morning, Representative Schusterman. The chair calls up House Bill 1827, printers number 2252. Chuck, could you please explain the bill?
Yes, House Bill 1827, printers number 2252, offered by Representative Schusterman, would require health insurers to provide coverage for osteoporosis screening, prevention, and treatment for individuals who have reached menopause. The bill includes coverage for bone mineral density testing, certain preventive measures, physical therapy, and FDA-approved osteoporosis treatments. I will say the bill is supported by a host of groups, including the Pennsylvania Medical Society, the Hospital and Health System Association of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Adult Day Services Association, the Pennsylvania Association of Senior Centers, Pennsylvania Association of Area Agencies on Aging. The PA Insurance Department is neutral on it, as is the Insurance Association, and the only known group that is opposed is the independent Blue Cross. Thank you.
On the bill, the Chair calls up Amendment 04355 for consideration. Chuck, would you please explain the amendment?
Oh, I apologize.
Representative Schusterman, would you like to speak on the bill?
Should I speak on the bill first? I'll go ahead and speak on the bill. I want to thank the chairs. I truly appreciate your willingness to bring up House Bill 2545 up for a vote today. A constituent of my community brought this issue to my attention. Her elderly mother died of sepsis caused by a UTI, a urinary tract infection. Older women often experience repeated UTIs because the symptoms are different than when the women were younger. They don't even know they're experiencing one. And just recently, my father experienced one and ended up in the hospital for a week. He was misdiagnosed, and they had to do repeated tests. So this isn't just a woman's issue, but we are speaking about women and UTIs and solutions. Our grandmothers and health care providers don't always catch these infections until it's too late. Sepsis quickly takes over and patients too often die. This is preventable. As women age, a reduction of estrogen hormone helps create circumstances where UTIs flourish. Medical research has proven that the use of vaginal estrogen greatly reduces UTIs, which means our mothers, our loved ones, will experience a significant decrease in sepsis, hospital admissions, and deaths. Since I started learning about how critically important this preventative option can be for women, I haven't stopped talking about it. When I'm in line for lunch, I'm going to catch you, Rep. Nelson. I'm going to start talking to you about it. The Menopause Society estimates that up to 84% of menopausal women experience symptoms that include reoccurring urinary tract infection. Yet less than 10% of women use vaginal estrogen. Less than 10%. In terms of health care dollars, it's estimated that Medicare alone could save up to, brace yourself, everyone, $22 billion annually if vaginal estrogen was widely prescribed. $22 billion in health care costs. As of last year, the American Urological Association updated guidelines now include the use of vaginal estrogen for postmenopausal women. As legislators, we must take care of women in our commonwealth. We know better and we must do better. We owe women a simple cost-effective measure that will ensure that they can be healthy and safe as they age.
Rev Shusterman.
Yeah. Excuse me one moment. We're on Bill 1827. Oh, my God. I am so sorry. Well, cancel that. No, remember that. I think you mentioned HB 2545. No, I'm pretty sure I said HB 1827, but it is, you know. All right, guys, just tuck that in your brain of knowledge, and here we go. Thank you to the chairs for bringing this up. At its heart, this bill is about helping our seniors avoid breaking a hip and suddenly being faced with drastic increased health risks even death as a result Are you catching a theme here These are deadly conditions for women as they age Osteoporosis is a serious even deadly chronic disease requiring long management in hopes of reducing fracture risks Broken bones are the leading cause of nursing home admissions. For those of us over the age of 50, I'm here to share some frightening stats. First, please look around the room and choose three adults in addition to yourself. For adults over the age of 50, one in two women and up to one in four men will break a bone due to osteoporosis. What if that ends up being a hip that's fractured? For your group of four people, let's say unfortunately one of you, all of you, break your hip next month. One of you will die within 12 months. One of you will die within 12 months. Let's say that's me. One of you will go straight from a hospital to a nursing home and never come home. Let's say that's Rep Glenn. One of you, the remaining two of you will never regain your previous function, and one of you won't even be able to cross the room unaided. This is an all hands on deck emergency. What's the best way to avoid breaking your hip as an older adult? Reduce the severity of your osteoporosis, or better yet, avoid it altogether through our Osteoporosis Treatment Act. This bill includes, but it's not limited to, hormone replacement therapy, HRT, bone scans, and FDA-approved drugs to prevent nursing homes or death as a result of fractures or a broken bone. Women are most impacted by osteoporosis because they can lose up to 20% of their bone mass in the five years after they reach menopause. Okay, everyone, I have a visual eyes, I am almost six feet tall. And that would be like losing one of my legs in bone mass in my 40s and 50s. It's really hard to stand up straight. And I encourage all you guys to tell me when I'm stooping over, I do not want to lose a leg's worth of bone mass in my 40s and 50s. This is just one of the many reasons why hormone replacement therapy is so important. For far too long, for women, it's just been labeled aging and very little has been done. But today we are holding our menopause advocacy day. And together we can raise up our voices and not allow in this commonwealth women to die of something preventable like broken hips. I respectfully ask for a yes vote.
Thank you. The chair calls up amendment 04355. Chuck, will you explain the amendment, please?
Yes. Amendment 4355 to House Bill 1827, offered by Rep Madden. This amendment makes several changes to clarify the bill's insurance coverage provisions, transfers responsibility for the private insurers' provisions to the insurance department, defines insurers subject to the bill, and establishes a separate medical assistance managed care coverage requirement beginning January 1st, 2028, which is subject to federal approval.
Any discussion on the amendment Steph, will you take the roll?
Chair Madden?
Yes.
Representatives Benham?
Designation, yes.
Borowski? Designation, yes. Carroll? Designation, yes. Serato? Designation, yes. Bogenauer? Designation yes. Harris. Kahn. Kozorowski. Designation yes. Parker. Designation yes. Powell. Designation yes. Prokopiak.
Designation yes.
Rivera.
Designation yes.
Smith-Wadell. Chair Menser. Yes. Representatives Brown.
Designation yes.
Day.
Designation yes. Lime?
Jones?
Designation, yes.
Kozak?
Designation, no.
Labs? Marcel?
Designation, yes.
Margettis? Nelson? Rosal?
Designation, yes.
Slagle? The amendment is adopted. Thank you, Steph. HB 1827 specifically gives us an opportunity to address bone health as part of the broader conversation. Rather than waiting until someone has developed significant osteoporosis or suffered a fracture, HB 1827 addresses opportunities to identify and manage bone health earlier. I also think it's important that we look at this through the lens of long-term care costs and quality of life. Preventing or delaying osteoporosis and its complication can potentially help people remain independent and avoid more serious health consequences later. later. For those reasons, I believe HB 1827 gives us another tool to support healthier aging and earlier intervention, and I encourage my colleagues to support the bill. Is there any discussion on the bill, Chairman? Sir? There's one more bill, correct, Chairman? No comments. Anyone? Rep. Nelson? Love you, Rep. St. Eusterman. Hi, Rep. Nelson. Say nice things. Yeah, I appreciate what you're trying to do. And as we spoke with respect to Rep. Hambridge, these bills, each of them have a 90-day implementation date, which I look forward to trying to work with you on the floor to be able to maybe extend that implementation. Happy to work with you about an amendment that makes sense and we can get everyone at the tip line. I appreciate both the importance of the issue and the potential for cost savings by not having more catastrophic situations. Individuals do. Once that hip gets broken, sometimes they never get back home again. We're just a little bit longer implementation period so the system can adjust. Yes, let's work together on that. Thank you. Okay seeing no other comments Steph will you take the roll Chair Madden Yes Representative Spenum Yes Borowski Designation yes Carroll
Designation, yes.
Serato?
Designation, yes.
Gogenauer?
Designation, yes.
Harris? Hahn?
Wozorowski?
Designation, yes.
Parker?
Designation, yes.
Powell?
Designation, yes.
Sarkoviak?
Designation, yes.
Rivera.
Smith-Wadell.
Chair Menser.
Yes.
Representatives Brown.
Designation, yes.
Blyme.
Designation.
Sorry, Representative Day.
Designation, yes.
Blyme.
Jones.
Designation, yes.
Kozak.
Designation, no.
Labs.
Marcel.
Designation, yes.
Margettis.
Nelson.
Rosal.
Designation, yes.
Blago?
The bill is reported as amended.
Thank you, Steph.
And I'd like to mention that we've been joined by Representatives Rivera and Representative Harris. Moving on, the chair calls up HB 2545, printers number 3452. Chuck, would you please explain the bill?
Yes, House Bill 2545, printers number 3452, offered by Representative Schusterman, would require health insurance policies to provide coverage for vaginal estrogen for individuals experiencing menopause. The bill applies to FDA-approved vaginal estrogen drugs, devices, and combination products used to treat symptoms associated with menopause and to prevent urinary tract infections. Coverage would remain subject to medical necessity, cost-sharing, and utilization review requirements.
Representative Schusterman, would you like to pick up where you left off?
Yes, thank you so much, Chair Madden. I was just so excited to say the words vaginal estrogen for UTI prevention. Right here in the House of Representatives, we've never been able to say that. So thank you for bringing up, yes, HB 2545. As I mentioned, and will mention again, that elderly women die of sepsis caused by UTIs, urinary tract infection, because often the symptoms look different than when they were younger and they had UTIs. All of this is preventable. And as women age, and I am aging, all of you, a reduction of the estrogen hormone helps create circumstances where UTIs flourish. Medical research shows that vaginal estrogen, it's just like a little tablet, can prevent UTIs as your estrogen decreases. So I'm thrilled to let you know that it is estimated that Medicare alone could save up to $22 billion annually if vaginal estrogen was widely prescribed. And currently, only about 10% of women use vaginal estrogen, so we have a lot of work to do. We know better. We must do better. We owe the women a simple, cost-effective measure that will ensure that they can be healthy and safe as they age. Added bonus, we love saving taxpayers money. So today, my colleagues have joined together with our national experts for Menopause Advocacy Day because women are over 50% of the constituents we serve. It's inevitable they're going to go through menopause. we don't want them ending up in a nursing home. or dying due to severe UTIs. So I respectfully ask the committee members for a yes vote. Thank you.
Thank you, Representative. On the bill, the chair calls up Amendment 04309 for consideration. Chuck, would you please explain the amendment?
Amendment 4309 offered by Representative Madden makes a clarifying change to the bill's coverage provision for infections by specifying infections apply to or include individuals aging through menopause. Thank you. Is there any discussion on the amendment?
Seeing none, Steph, will you take the roll, please?
Chair Madden?
Yes.
Representative Spenum?
Designation, yes.
Borowski?
Designation, yes.
Carroll?
Designation, yes.
Serato?
Designation, yes.
Bogenauer?
Designation, yes.
Harris?
Kahn.
Designation, yes.
Kozorowski.
Designation, yes.
Parker.
Designation, yes.
Powell.
Designation, yes.
Rokowiak.
Designation, yes.
Rivera.
Smith-Waydel.
Chair Menser.
Yes.
Representatives Brown.
Designation, yes.
Day.
Designation, yes.
Blyme.
Jones.
Designation, yes.
Kozak? Designation no. Labs? Marcel? Designation yes. Margettis? Nelson? Rosl? Designation yes. Schlegel? Designation yes. The amendment is adopted.
Thank you. On the bill, again, healthy aging isn't just about treating conditions after they become serious. It includes identifying practical ways to help older adults maintain their health, independence, and quality of life. When a relatively straightforward preventative intervention can help reduce the occurrence of a condition that may otherwise require more significant medical attention, it's worth looking at how our coverage policies can support that prevention. For those reasons, I encourage my colleagues to support the bill. Is there any other discussion on the bill? Chair Madden, it is important for women experiencing menopause to have access to appropriate care and treatments. That's why I support moving these bills out of committee. Also, I understand there are outstanding questions regarding the impact these bills will have, and I hope we can receive more clarity as they move through the legislative process. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you Chairman Sir is there any other discussion Okay Seeing no further discussion Steph will you take a roll Chair Madden Yes Representative Spenum
Designation, yes.
Borowski?
Designation, yes.
Carroll?
Designation, yes.
Serato?
Designation, yes.
Gogenauer?
Designation, yes.
Harris?
Khan?
Designation, yes.
Kosarowski?
designation yes Parker designation yes Powell designation yes Rokowiak
designation yes Rivera Smith-Wadell chair Menser yes representatives Brown
designation yes day designation yes Lyme Jones designation yes Kozak
Designation, no.
Labs?
Marcel?
Designation, yes.
Margettis?
Nelson?
Rosal?
Designation, yes.
Schlegel?
The bill is reported as amended. Thank you, Steph. The chair calls up House Resolution 623, printers number 3899. Chuck, would you please explain the resolution?
Yes, House Resolution 623, printers number 3899, offered by Chairs Madden and Menser, recognized October 9th, 2026 as Ageism Awareness Day in Pennsylvania. Thank you.
ageism can be easy to overlook because it often shows up in everyday assumptions assumptions about what someone can do what they are capable of learning where they can continue working or what contributions they can continue to make to their communities as legislators we have an opportunity to help change that conversation aging should not automatically be viewed as a limitation, older Pennsylvanians can bring experience, knowledge, skills, and perspective that benefits their families, workplaces, and communities. This resolution makes an important point that preventing ageism benefits everyone. Creating greater awareness in areas such as employment, housing, education, and health care can help ensure that people are treated based on their individual abilities and circumstances rather than the assumptions about their age. I also think recognizing ageism awareness gives us an opportunity to look beyond October 9th. Awareness is a starting point, but the larger goal should be making sure older adults are respected, included, and valued throughout the year. Chair Menser, do you have remarks? Thank you, Chair Madden. Older adults need to be treated with dignity and respect. It important to encourage this type of awareness especially in a rapidly aging Commonwealth I will be supporting the resolution Thank you Is there any further discussion on the resolution Are there any negative votes on the resolution? Okay. Seeing no negative votes, the resolution passes. Thank you. And now for the last order of business, the chair calls up House Resolution 628, 628, printers number 3905. Chuck, would you
please explain the resolution? I would be happy to. House resolution 628, printers number 3905, offered by Chairs Madden and Menser, recognized the month of September 2026 as Living Independence for the Elderly, Life Month in
Pennsylvania. Thank you, Chuck. So, what I appreciate most about the LIFE program is that it brings together different pieces of the aging services system. Medical care, social supports, and other services are coordinated around the individual rather than requiring that that person or their family navigate each piece separately. That coordinated approach is particularly important for older adults with complex care needs. Life is designed to support individuals who qualify for a nursing level of care while allowing them to remain in their homes and communities. Yet life also represents an important part of the continuum of care available to older Pennsylvanians. It provides another option between managing everything independently at home or moving into a nursing facility. Pennsylvania has had a life program since 1998, and today the program serves thousands of older Pennsylvanians across much of the Commonwealth, recognizing that the program gives us an opportunity to highlight a resource that some families may not know is available to them. And on a fiscal note, I would like to mention that it costs a fraction of what it costs to put someone in a nursing home to enable them to stay in their homes and live independently, which is really the goal of Aging Our Way and really the goal of this committee. Chair Menser, my co-sponsor, would you like to... Yes, thank you, Chair Madden, and I was pleased to co-sponsor this resolution with you. The LIFE program, better known in the United States as the PACE program, as the chairwoman suggested, is a very, very efficient and cost-effective way to deal with people that are on Medicare and then Medicaid, dual eligible. We need to get this message of the LIFE program out to those people that it would serve. Because right now in Pennsylvania we only serve a small fraction of those who need this service and we are hoping that a resolution like this will breathe some enthusiasm into our ability to market this program to people of our state. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman. Sir Repschlegel, did you have remarks? Thank you, Madam Chair. I, too, appreciate the emphasis that this committee places on the life initiative and the overarching notion of our senior population being in a position to live independently. This initiative, as mentioned, is also cost effective. That said, I encourage our seniors to understand that due to circumstances beyond their control, there may be a time when a more focused, dedicated level of care is needed. Therefore, I encourage folks to be willing to plan ahead that occasion. There are resources available in our communities to help with further planning. Our County Office of the Aging is an excellent resource to help seniors look ahead to that possibility. Thank you. Thank you, Representative. Are there any negative votes on the resolution? Seeing none, the resolution passes. Thank you all. Before we adjourn, I would like to... I'm sorry, Chair Mencer, did you have something you wanted to add? I was interested in introducing my executive director. Yes, I would prefer you do that. Go right ahead. Thank you, Chairman. So we have a new addition to our staff here in research. Our new executive director is Emily Hackman. Emily spent some time in the health research area in the Republican caucus, so I'd like everyone to welcome Emily. Thank you. Welcome, Emily, and you hit the ground running as you were a big help drafting the amendments for these bills. We thank you and welcome. This meeting is adjourned. Thank you.