Frankel hails health care priorities in the first Shapiro budget
Says budget addresses many pressing issues across Pennsylvania
Allegheny County Delegation March 7, 2023 | 4:20 PM
HARRISBURG, March 7 – House Majority Health Committee Chairman Dan Frankel enthusiastically endorsed the first budget proposal under the new administration Tuesday, saying that his committee is ready to move legislation to support Gov. Josh Shapiro’s priorities.
“Our commonwealth cannot fulfill its potential if its residents, including children, are going hungry, if maternal mortality numbers are increasing, particularly for people of color, and if people living with mental health challenges are not getting the support and treatment that they need,” Frankel said. “This is a document that recognizes the state government’s role in setting up Pennsylvanians for success.”
Frankel, who will soon introduce legislation with Rep. Donna Bullock to create a legal framework for an adult use cannabis program, highlighted Shapiro’s ongoing commitment to decriminalization.
“I look forward to working with him to ensure that people can purchase legal cannabis in Pennsylvania that they know is as safe as possible, and that this new industry is built in such a way that it begins to repair the harms that so many low-income and minority communities suffered under our failed cannabis policy of the past,” Frankel said.
Frankel also noted that the budget proposal included investments in oversight of long-term care nursing facilities and in building out the regulations for temporary staffing agencies.
“These are the places with the most sacred of duties: caring for our loved ones after they can no longer live at home. Addressing the staffing issues at long-term nursing facilities protects the safety and wellbeing of the residents who rely on them,” Frankel said.
Frankel applauded Shapiro for seeking out sensible policy changes and funding opportunities that will touch the lives of every Pennsylvanian. Even outside of the proposals he discussed that directly impact health care, Shapiro’s plans to raise the minimum wage, increase resources for the education system, reduce gun violence, cap toxic orphan wells, and end legal discrimination all impact the health and welfare of the people of Pennsylvania.
“This is the argument that the governor made on the campaign trail last year, and this is the argument that brought Pennsylvanians to the polls to support him,” Frankel said.