The Health Care Issues that will Matter Come November

By Jake Felker, HAP’s director, political engagement

July 23, 2024

When it comes to November’s election, most of our attention is focused on the presidential ticket and national issues draw our interest. The reality is state and local elections further down the ballot will matter just as much to hospitals.

Here are three issues to watch:

1. A regulatory focus on mergers and acquisitions

The state’s top prosecutor will be elected this year to a four-year term. The attorney general has recently grown in prominence on the national stage through Medicaid expansion, and we know the scope of the office can change through legislation and elections. Mergers and acquisitions are one area of interest as hospitals evolve and adapt to continue providing high quality services to communities across the state. Legislation granting oversight and authority deciding “public interest” in all hospital mergers stands with lawmakers. Regardless of the outcome, the Office of Attonery General will be central to many hospital decisions moving forward.

2. Chamber majorities could sway nurse ratio legislation

Pennsylvania is the only state in the nation with a divided legislature and those majorities for both parties are razor thin. The House gets the most attention, but the state Senate is only divided by three seats. Half of the 50 seats are up for election this November with four districts being top-tier targeted races by each party. Candidates, political action committees, parties, and outside groups will heavily invest in each of these races to change the Senate dynamic. If only three seats flip control, issues like government-mandated nurse staffing ratios (which are still part of capitol conversations) could be back on the table and primed for passage during 2025. 

3. Addressing a return to ‘venue shopping’

During 2022, seven elected judges overturned a bipartisan rule between the governor, House, and Senate that existed for 20 years to allow venue shopping in medical liability cases. This rule reversal is already creating challenges for the hospital community and will become more prevalent in years to come. The legislature, specifically members of the Senate, are working on legislation to address portions of the rule change—and just as with nurse ratios—the controlling party matters if these proposals are going to gain any traction.

How HAP supports your political engagement 

HAP has a newly upgraded election resource page that includes information on ways to vote, how to register or check registration, and candidate websites and questionnaires. This election page is one tool HAP is deploying to share nonpartisan voter resources and candidate information. Stay tuned as HAP will release a CEO toolkit and other tools to help you better inform your teams and encourage stronger political engagement.

HAPAC and HAPAC-Federal, HAP’s bipartisan political action committees, are also valuable tools for strengthening the hospital community’s political clout at the statewide and national levels and electing candidates who will champion hospital priorities. You can learn more about the PAC online and contribute using the passcode “HAPAC.” If you would like to launch a HAPAC campaign within your organization, the HAP team is more than happy to support you. Contact Heidi Ryan, political action manager, to learn more.

For more information about these issues or what’s next in state politics, don’t hesitate to contact me.