Urge your legislator to vote in favor of prohibiting the declawing of cats

Declawing (onychectomy) is an elective procedure that amputates most or all of the last bone of each of the cat’s toes. The procedure is commonly performed to prevent unwanted scratching. Animal advocates, veterinarians, and others acknowledge that this procedure is inhumane, unnecessary, and traumatic. The Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association, Paw Project, Alley Cat Allies, and International Society of Feline Medicine do not support declawing cats as an elective procedure. The industry has changed. In 2020, the nation’s largest veterinary chains, VCA, Banfield, and Blue Pearl, with their 10,000+ veterinarians nationwide, banned declawing. Tell your elected officials that you support this bill and it deserves to be brought to a full vote.

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SEND A MESSAGE: DEMAND HEARING AID COVERAGE FOR ALL PENNSYLVANIANS

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 1.1 million Pennsylvanians – 8.6% of the PA population – cope with hearing loss. Additionally, approximately 15% of American adults report some difficulty hearing. Among adults aged 70 and older who could benefit from hearing aids, fewer than 30% have ever used them. Hearing aids range in costs of $1,000 - $4,000 – with an average cost of $2,300. However, hearing aids are currently only required to be covered for Medicaid recipients under age 21, leaving many Pennsylvanians in need to pay exorbitant out-of-pocket costs to access hearing assistance. The inability to access hearing aids has negative health impacts for seniors and can affect employment opportunities for all residents who remain in need of these devices.

House Bill 1670, currently awaiting a vote by the House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee, seeks to require private insurance companies in Pennsylvania to cover costs of hearing aids. Please join me in this effort to improve the health and wellness of Pennsylvanians suffering from hearing loss by mitigating the exorbitant cost of hearing aids, especially among the many older Pennsylvanians living on a fixed income.

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Urge Your Legislators to vote in favor of Medicaid Coverage for Menopause

For many women, menopause may be accompanied by symptoms including hot flashes, night sweats, difficulty sleeping, incontinence, mood changes, weight gain, dry skin, muscle and joint pain, and osteoporosis. There are many treatments that can be used to alleviate these symptoms, such as U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved hormone therapy, non-hormonal prescriptions, as well as alternate methods such as increasing exercise and cognitive behavioral therapy. However, many women may not be able to access these treatments and may not be aware that they have options to treat their symptoms.

Urge your legislators to take action and move this bill out of the Human Services Committee!

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Urge Your Legislators to vote in favor of Insurance Coverage for Menopause

In the United States, roughly 1.3 million women will transition into menopause each year. For many of these women, menopause may be accompanied by symptoms including hot flashes, night sweats, difficulty sleeping, incontinence, mood changes, weight gain, dry skin, muscle and joint pain, and osteoporosis. There are many treatments that can be used to alleviate these symptoms, such as U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved hormone therapy, non-hormonal prescriptions, as well as alternate methods such as increasing exercise and cognitive behavioral therapy. However, many women may not be able to access these treatments and may not be aware that they have options to treat their symptoms.

Urge your legislators to take action and move this bill out of the Insurance Committee!

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Urge your legislators to vote for treatment measures for osteoporosis as a result of menopause.

All women – just over 50 percent of our population - will go through menopause, often with symptoms including hot flashes, brain fog, sleep disturbances, and osteoporosis. Osteoporosis, or the loss of bone density, is often not diagnosed until someone experiences a fracture or break. Approximately one in three women over the age of 50 will have some sort of fracture at some point. This is extremely concerning as hip fractures significantly increase the risk of death compared to people who have not had a fracture. Further, even though the average age of women entering menopause is 51 in the United States, and about 20% of bone loss typically happens during the first five years of the menopause transition, bone density testing is only recommended for women older than 65.

Urge your legislators to vote this bill out of the Insurance Committee.

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Urge your legislators to vote for the Department of Health and medical providers to educate women on the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause.

Many women in Pennsylvania enter perimenopause and menopause without the tools they need to ensure their best health outcomes and without feeling appropriately prepared.  Despite being a natural progression in most women's lives, 32% of surveyed American women reported feeling there was not enough perimenopause and menopause information available to them before they underwent these processes.
 
I want to ensure that all Pennsylvania women are prepared for these transitions by creating partnerships between the Department of Health and medical providers to educate women on the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause, the biological changes behind the processes and how to talk to family and friends about the processes.  With this legislation, Pennsylvania women can enter their menopausal years with the skills they need to tackle and embrace these changes.

Urge your legislators to vote HB1411 out of the Health Committee

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Urge your legislators to vote to prohibit the use of deceptive interrogation tactics when interrogating individuals with intellectual disabilities or autism.

Many of the nation’s over 360 wrongful convictions overturned by DNA evidence, have involved some form of false confession, often secured through deceptive interrogation tactics. This can be seen in the case of the Central Park Five, who were wrongfully convicted until their eventual exoneration.  Individuals with intellectual disabilities are especially vulnerable to deception interrogation tactics. 

This legislation adresses this issue by prohibiting the use of deceptive interrogation tactics when interrogating individuals with intellectual disabilities or autism.  Confessions made as a result of these tactics would be inadmissible in court unless the state can prove the confession was given voluntarily.  

As state legislators, we must ensure that our most vulnerable are protected from unfair coercion and provided the fairness they deserve. 

Urge your legislators to vote for HB1247 now!

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