Pennsylvanians with no insurance may get some help

By Jerri Brouse

For The Daily Item

LEWISBURG — If you’ve ever been to the emergency room and wondered why it takes so long to be treated, the answer is simple — there are too many patients.

“Pennsylvanians overuse the emergency room,” said Betsy Snook, of Lewisburg, who is executive administrator of the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association (PSNA). “We use the emergency room 11 percent more than anywhere else in the nation.”

It’s not because they want to sit around for hours or because they’re afraid to go to the doctor, though. It’s because a trip to the emergency room guarantees you’ll get treated, regardless of whether or not you have the money to pay for services.

“If you go there, they have to treat you,” said Mrs. Snook.

And that’s key since many Pennsylvanians don’t have health insurance to cover their medical expenses.

In an effort to change that, Mrs. Snook said she is standing behind Governor Ed Rendell’s Prescription for PA bill — a set of “integrated practical strategies” to increase access to healthcare, decrease the cost of insurance and improve the quality of care overall. She hopes the bill will become a model for the rest of the nation.

Mrs. Snook said in order for these goals to be achieved, the government has to start using their resources better — that means giving more responsibility to nurses.

“Nurses are very well-educated,” she said. “Right now, doctors are providing the majority of the care in the state, but most nurses are doctoral-prepared and have a minimum of a master’s degree in nursing.” She thinks by opening Urgent Care Centers (currently available to patients in other states), offices staffed entirely by nurses and open to the public, more patients can get the immediate help they need. She wants to see clinical nurse specialists, who work exclusively in hospitals, be forced to meet certain requirements before obtaining title recognition.

Several portions of the bill (one that expands the scope of practice for CRNPs and another that gives nurse midwives prescriptive powers) have already been passed.

“By introducing these bills we’ve expanded the number of healthcare people who can give care and we’ve made sure they’re certified,” said Mrs. Snook.