Link to PASNAP Video Statement Here
PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA — Following a crucial vote by the U.S. House of Representatives to extend Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP) is calling on the United States Senate to stop using Americans’ healthcare as a political bargaining chip.
Last week, House members forced a vote on a three-year extension of ACA premium tax credits — a measure intended to provide much-needed relief to millions of Americans facing steep and unsustainable premium increases.
“I am deeply concerned about the political games being played at the expense of our healthcare system,” said Maureen May, RN, a longtime maternal-fetal medicine nurse and president of PASNAP. “We are calling on Senators from both parties to come together, stop the political games, and put Americans’ healthcare first.”
The consequences of inaction are already being felt in Pennsylvania. Compared to 2025, more than 70,000 fewer Pennsylvanians are enrolled in ACA coverage — meaning tens of thousands of people have lost health insurance simply because they can no longer afford it.
Without coverage, even a single emergency room visit — for something as routine as a broken bone — can cost up to $10,000.
No one should ever have to choose between getting the care they need and going broke.
Hospitals across Pennsylvania are already cutting services as financial pressure mounts. Units are closing, patients are being forced to travel farther for care, and entire communities are losing access to essential services — including maternity care, behavioral health treatment, cancer services, and intensive care.
In recent months, Pottstown Hospital in Montgomery County and Jefferson Frankford Hospital in Philadelphia have both closed their ICUs. Elsewhere, hospitals within the former Crozer Health system have been sold or consolidated, leaving patients uncertain about where they can turn for care.
When hospitals lose paying patients because coverage becomes unaffordable, services disappear — and communities suffer. These closures don’t just affect balance sheets; they affect emergency response times, maternal outcomes, and whether patients can get lifesaving care close to home.
Healthcare workers will never stop fighting to protect access to care for our patients. That’s why PASNAP is teaming up with healthcare advocates from across Philadelphia to host a public forum to Save Our Healthcare on Thursday, January 22, at Sheet Metal Workers Local 19.
The event will focus on what’s happening in Washington, what’s at stake for Pennsylvania families, and what communities can do to protect access to affordable, quality healthcare.
Register for the forum here and stand with healthcare workers in the fight to protect quality, affordable care for all Pennsylvanians.
NAMES OF NURSES SPEAKING IN THE VIDEO STATEMENT:
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The Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP), represents more than 11,000 frontline nurses and healthcare professionals across Pennsylvania. PASNAP was founded 25 years ago on the belief that patients do better when critical care staff have a voice to advocate for their patients and themselves.
