FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JANUARY 8, 2026

CONTACT:      Ashley Berry Johnson / [email protected] / (267) 990-5505 or Megan Othersen Gorman / [email protected] / (215) 817-5781

THE PENNSYLVANIA ASSOCIATION OF STAFF NURSES AND ALLIED PROFESSIONALS, REPRESENTING MORE THAN 11,000 FRONTLINE HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS ACROSS PENNSYLVANIA, APPLAUDS THE US HOUSE MEMBERS WHO VOTED TO RESTORE THE ACA’S PREMIUM TAX CREDITS

PASNAP Urges the Senate to Follow the House’s Lead and Vote Swiftly to Stabilize Our Healthcare System and Support the Interests and Well-Being of the American People

PASNAP President Maureen May, RN, Available For Interview/Comment

PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA – Today, we applaud US House Members who forced a vote on a three-year extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits, which Congress allowed to expire on December 31st. The bill aims to provide much needed relief for millions struggling with crippling ACA premium hikes (premium costs have doubled and even tripled for many) and for those who have already lost coverage because they can no longer afford it.

“Nurses take a pledge—the Florence Nightingale Pledge—to devote ourselves to the welfare of all dedicated to our care,” says longtime maternal fetal medicine nurse Maureen May, RN, president of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP), which represents 11,000-plus frontline caregivers across the commonwealth. “We call on our Senators to do the same—to protect access to care for all they are elected to serve.”

When people lose insurance, they don’t stop getting sick. They delay care. They ration and skip medications. Treatable conditions become emergencies, and those emergencies land in ERs and hospital beds, where care is more expensive and often unpaid. Patients wait longer for care, and hospitals, already struggling, are forced to absorb the costs of more and more uncompensated care. That means hospitals have to do more with less, which could lead to reductions in the quality of patient care, cuts in services, or even hospital closures.

At the bedside, we are already seeing the warning signs. Hospitals across Pennsylvania are shutting down areas of care, forcing patients to travel farther for critical care. Communities are losing maternity services, behavioral health care, cancer care. Even ICUs are closing – Pottstown Hospital in Montgomery County just closed its ICU; Philadelphia’s Jefferson Frankford Hospital did the same. And whole hospitals, such as those within the former Crozer Health system, are being sold or consolidated.

This is how healthcare deserts are created — and once access is lost, it is incredibly difficult to restore.

As the health and well-being of every American hangs in the balance, federal lawmakers are also entertaining deep cuts and restrictions to Medicaid, threatening coverage for more than 300,000 working Pennsylvanians and putting 47 Commonwealth hospitals, most in rural and underserved communities, at risk of closure. Those hospitals serve as a lifeline for their communities. Losing them would mean longer drives in emergencies, when every second counts, fewer maternity wards, and no safety net when people need care most.

Rising premiums and lost Medicaid coverage feed into the same precipitous spiral: People get sicker; hospitals get weaker and close service lines; and communities suffer.

PASNAP nurses, techs, paramedics, pharmacists, and healthcare professionals across Pennsylvania urge Senators – Republicans and Democrats alike – to prioritize the health and well-being of the constituents they were elected to serve and renew the ACA’s premium tax credits immediately. Protect our patients. Protect our hospitals. Protect the people of Pennsylvania.

Because when coverage is lost and hospitals close, we all pay the price.

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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.