Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) last week at a news briefing reviewed pending legislation within the state General Assembly, including a plan to provide health insurance to 800,000 state residents, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Rendell said that although he had hoped to pass Cover All Pennsylvanians by Dec. 25, because of opposition from state Senate Republicans, he now hopes to pass the legislation by Feb. 14, 2008.
At issue is the bill's funding mechanism. Rendell wants to fund the measure using a $400 million surplus in an account that helps physicians pay settlements in malpractice lawsuits, a 10-cent increase in the state tobacco tax, and a new sales tax on cigars and smokeless tobacco, which are not subject to a sales tax currently.
Erik Arneson, a spokesperson for state Senate Republican leader Dominic Pileggi, said that the taxes Rendell wants to use for the plan are among a total of seven new taxes that Rendell has proposed, which Republicans say are too many.
In addition, the state Republican party "fears that the proposed health coverage for the uninsured could turn into a permanent and expensive government entitlement program," the Post-Gazette reports (Barnes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 12/16).
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