Health Care – Pennsylvania Catholic Conference

This Past Week at the PA Capitol

Al Gnoza — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 15:21:10 +0000

It was just the House in session this past week in Harrisburg, but it was an eventful two days of activity. Democratic leadership pulled a procedural move to bury a bill that would prevent biological males from playing female sports in PA. Plus, there was extensive debate–mostly from Republicans–on a bill to expand the time for women to have a legal abortion in the state.

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Voter Voice Campaign: Ask Your PA State Representative to Oppose Slate of Pro-Abortion Bills

Al Gnoza — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 16:01:05 +0000

Democrats in the PA House are planning on running a full slate of abortion bills on the House floor on Tuesday. We have joined other pro-life groups in a campaign to call on residents to reach out to their PA state representative to tell them to oppose these measures. Here is a link to that campaign.

https://www.votervoice.net/PACC/campaigns/132155/respond

PA House Democrats Use Procedural Move to Avoid Vote on Transgender Sports Bill

Al Gnoza — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 14:13:02 +0000

At a PA House Health Committee meeting on Wednesday, Democrats passed a bill that would once again change committees for a bill to prevent transgenders from playing girls sports in Pennsylvania. The move serves to delay any vote that would put lawmakers on record for their stance against the bill.

https://x.com/pacatholic/status/1983519708977467784?s=46

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It’s Been a Very Busy Week at the PA Capitol as the Budget Deadline Looms

Al Gnoza — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 14:28:53 +0000

There was a lot going on this week at the PA Capitol and work continues to try to get a budget in place by the Sunday deadline. Here are some highlights from the week as posted on our Facebook page.

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Amy Wilt of Dauphin County Doulas is Happy with Awareness of Doulas but Says the Process Needs Some Fine-Tuning

Al Gnoza — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 15:28:37 +0000

Two years ago we spent time talking about the issues facing mothers and children during our nine-month series on Maternal & Early Childhood Issues. Part of that focus was on the work done by doulas, particularly by Amy Wilt and her group at Dauphin County Doulas.

Since then, doulas have received a lot of attention across Pennsylvania, with lawmakers in Harrisburg taking the lead on working to increase the access to doulas and their coverage by insurance.

Doula services are now covered under Medical Assistance after changes by the Shapiro Administration. In order to be recognized by Medicaid, doulas must be certified through the Pennsylvania Certification Board. Department of Human Services Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh and Department of Health Acting Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen recently stressed the importance of doulas as part of care teams for historically underserved populations.

With this in mind, we talked once again with Amy Wilt to see what she though of the increased awareness.

“I’m so happy about that. That’s great movement,” she said. “Even two years ago when we first spoke, we weren’t recognized as a profession. Nobody talked about us. Nobody knew what we did….There’s a lot more who are learning about us, which is fabulous.

“I’ve seen this huge shift, with late-in-pregnancy moms–‘oh I just learned what a doula is and I really need you on board.’ We’re filled up until August and September is my first opening.”

But there is still progress to be made. Wilt says she is grateful for the increase in insurance coverage. But she would like to see the coverage give doulas more up-front coverage to ensure client commitment.

“I’m not allowed to charge you a deposit to hold your spot. I’m not allowed to charge you anything,” Wilt said, referring to the restrictions involved with the current form of insurance coverage. “That then causes a problem because I don’t know that you are going to call me for your birth. They need to take a look at that. ”

Wilt says she has found that moms without a financial commitment, like a deposit, are less likely to call for the birth.

“If they don’t call for the birth, then we lose a significant amount of money. We’re just getting paid for a pre-natal visit.” And they have difficulty knowing whether or not to reserve time for moms in the months ahead.

Wilt says it will end up hurting the doula industry if things don’t change.

PA House Committee Passes Human Donor Milk Bill That’s Supported by PCC

Al Gnoza — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 16:42:42 +0000

The PA House Health Committee today unanimously passed Senate Bill 500, which calls for Medicaid coverage of human donor milk. The milk is vitally important for many newborns suffering from health issues. The PCC supports this issue. It has already passed the Senate and just needs approval by the full House. Here are the Facebook and X links for the two stories we ran.

https://fb.watch/nLLsZciiLe/?mibextid=cr9u03

https://x.com/pacatholic/status/1714669965268193289?s=46&t=BhvQl7L4iZmDeA-ftim4Og

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Checking Back in With Amy Wilt of Dauphin County Doulas

Al Gnoza — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 15:27:09 +0000

Time for an update on doulas, a topic we addressed last year in our 9-month long series on Maternal & Early Childhood Issues. Today we talk again with our doula expert Amy Wilt and check on legislation that has been proposed in Harrisburg to have insurance cover doula services. pic.twitter.com/Cbmwbnb9FG

— PAcatholic (@PAcatholic) August 8, 2023

PA Sen. Judy Schwank’s Bills to Help New Moms

Al Gnoza — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 16:44:56 +0000

PA Sen. Judy Schwank has worked very hard on the issue of maternal mortality. Here she talks about her bill to address the problem. The PCC supports this bill and thanks Sen. Schwank for her work on this and a number of other issues to help mothers and newborns.

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Got the chance to sit down and chat with PA Democratic Sen. Judy Schwank of Berks Co. this morning about some of the bills she’s sponsoring this session. On the list is a bill about doulas and the important work they do. We support this measure as well.

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Maternal & Early Childhood Issues: July’s Topic–Early Childhood Screenings

Al Gnoza — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 18:58:45 +0000

July 18th

We continue our look at Early Childhood Screenings by talking with Kris Bowman of Ramsey Educational and Development Institute, or REDI. They administer the PA Early Intervention Program in Montgomery County.

https://twitter.com/PAcatholic/status/1549094658478903299?s=20&t=bfxurJPODSGTJUaDird-pg

https://fb.watch/elp1XOaQ3p/

July 15th

As part of look at Early Childhood Screenings, we are looking to find out about screenings in PA for newborns suffering from their mothers’ drug addiction. We’d love to talk with the state task force created to help those children but haven’t had much help from the Wolf Admin.

https://twitter.com/PAcatholic/status/1548004337758060544?s=20&t=bfxurJPODSGTJUaDird-pg

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July 14th

Continuing our series for July on Early Childhood Screenings with a quick look at the first big test for the newborn, the blood test.

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July 13th

Continuing our series on Early Childhood Screenings… it was a crisis in Michigan that sparked lawmakers here in Pennsylvania to put an emphasis on testing children for the presence of lead.

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July 12th

We wrap up the conversation with our friend Victoria about the tests, screenings and milestones designed for children after they come home from the hospital. It’s part of our July focus on Early Childhood Screenings.

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July 11th

As part of our continuing look at Early Childhood Screenings for July, we talk with a young mother about all the tests that we went through.

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Our Series on Maternal & Early Childhood Issues: Breastfeeding – 9 stories

Al Gnoza — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 17:13:30 +0000

6-30-22

We finish up our stories on breastfeeding by talking again with Colette Acker of the Breastfeeding Resource Center about the culture that exists towards BF in the U.S.

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6-29-22

As we’ve focused this month on issues involved in breastfeeding, we’ve talked with our advocates and moms about the challenges involved in doing so while going back to work full time. Colette Acker of the Breastfeeding Resource Center shares her views on what’s involved.

https://twitter.com/PAcatholic/status/1542181083462221833?s=20&t=y-vWAw8jWy_JOJQb9YkGAw

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6-28-22

Colette Acker of the Breastfeeding Resource Center talks with us about why many new moms give up on breastfeeding within the first several weeks after the birth of their child.

https://twitter.com/PAcatholic/status/1541812970275180546?s=20&t=y-vWAw8jWy_JOJQb9YkGAw

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6-27-22

We begin today a series of stories with Colette Acker of the Breastfeeding Resource Center in Montgomery County. They’ve been providing vital support for new moms for nearly 20 years.

https://twitter.com/PAcatholic/status/1541447488065966082?s=20&t=y-vWAw8jWy_JOJQb9YkGAw

https://fb.watch/dZA4NAhnvc/

6-24-22

We wrap up our conversation on breastfeeding with Amy Wilt by talking about two potential problems that may affect moms during breastfeeding.

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6-23-22

We continue our June focus on breastfeeding by talking with doula Amy Wilt about the challenges involved in breastfeeding while returning to work.

https://twitter.com/PAcatholic/status/1540060616722989056?s=20&t=y-vWAw8jWy_JOJQb9YkGAw

https://fb.watch/dZApmYqCFR/

6-22-22

We continue our chat with Amy Wilt about breastfeeding. Today’s focus is on relactation. A total education for many of us.

https://twitter.com/PAcatholic/status/1539653795398836224?s=20&t=y-vWAw8jWy_JOJQb9YkGAw

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6-21-22

We continue the conversation with our doula consultant, Amy Wilt, about the influence and pressure that moms get from those closest to them when trying to decide whether or not to breastfeed their newborns.

https://twitter.com/PAcatholic/status/1539255591914328065?s=20&t=y-vWAw8jWy_JOJQb9YkGAw

https://fb.watch/dZAFgKarE-/

6-20-22

We continue our series on breastfeeding by talking again with Amy Wilt of Dauphin County Doulas. She has provided a ton of information for us in our nine-month long focus on Maternal & Early Childhood Issues. Today Amy talks about ”the latch.”

https://twitter.com/PAcatholic/status/1538962868414169094?s=20&t=y-vWAw8jWy_JOJQb9YkGAw

https://fb.watch/dZAMmSazHv/