HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania’s United Methodist bishops have urged Governor Tom Corbett and members of the General Assembly to approve expanding Medicaid service to vulnerable individuals and families under the federal government’s new health care law.
 
The bishops – Thomas J. Bickerton of the Western Pennsylvania Conference, Peggy Johnson of Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, and Jeremiah Park of the Susquehanna Conference – met with the Governor and a series of legislators on Monday, March 11. Among the legislators were House Speaker Sam Smith, a member of Punxsutawney First UM Church, and House Republican Policy Chair Rep. David Reed, a member of Grace UM Church in Indiana, PA. Both are active United Methodists.
 
As they met with the governor in his Capitol office, the Bishops delivered a letter urging him to “take the necessary steps to enact Medicaid expansion within our Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.” They sent a similar letter to each member of the General Assembly.
 
Citing Scripture, the bishops said a requirement for faithful living is “to do what is just… As members of our 2,300 congregations across Pennsylvania experience anxiety and despair because they cannot afford health care, we believe if one suffers, all suffer.”
 
Expansion of Medicaid, they said, will bring health care coverage to nearly 1 million more Pennsylvanians. Under the new law, the federal government will pay for the majority of the costs during the first three years. That means an additional $43 billion in federal support for health care in Pennsylvania.
 
“Health care is the justice issue of our day, and by your action, Governor Corbett, to join governors across the country that are joining in Medicaid expansion, we will be found faithful,” the bishops said. They sent a similar letter to members of the House and Senate.
 
During their 45-minute meeting, they presented the governor with an inscribed Bible signed by each bishop.