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The Weekly Roundup
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The latest news from the State Capitol
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Hurricane Could Impact Local Utilities
Although our area of Pennsylvania does not appear to be in the path of Hurricane Florence, any additional rain resulting from the storm in the coming days could cause problems for our region and already saturated ground could contribute to tree-related outages, according to PPL Electric Utilities.
All PPL employees – including hundreds of line workers, electricians and other skilled technicians – are ready to respond if needed. The utility also has more than 200 additional workers – including contract line crews and workers to clear downed trees – ready to help restore power to customers, if needed. Crews are expected to work round-the-clock should outages occur.
Detailed information on staying safe in storms can be found here.
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Thanks for Coming to Senior Expo 2018!
I want to express my sincere thanks to everyone who made the Senior Expo I co-hosted with Sen. John Yudichak in Lehighton last week such a huge success. Around 1,000 people came out to learn about the programs and services available to older residents in our area.
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Beating Addiction
The Carbon-Monroe-Pike Drug and Alcohol Commission hosted its fifth annual recovery walk on Wednesday in Lehighton, and I was pleased to take part. The event is proof that a new life without addiction is possible!
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House Committee Examines Telemedicine Bills
On Wednesday at the Capitol, the House Professional Licensure Committee conducted a hearing to examine legislation that would allow health care to be more accessible and affordable by offering telemedicine options for patients.
Telemedicine refers to the remote delivery of health care services and medical information using telecommunications technology, a significant and rapidly growing component of health care.
Using telemedicine, specialists and other health care providers can expand their reach, helping patients stay in their communities and avoid traveling long distances for specialized care.
House Bill 1648 would define the term in state law and offer clarity for insurance company reimbursement for these services. Although the legislation requires payments for telemedicine services, those payments would be established between the provider and insurer.
Among those testifying at the hearing were physicians, nurses, medical information technologists, insurance industry representatives and a rural school superintendent.
I recently joined some of my House colleagues for a telemedicine demonstration at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown. It gave us a better understanding of the benefits this form of health care can provide for patients.
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Economic Update
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s General Fund revenue collections for August were $2.27 billion, which was $27 million more than estimated. So far this fiscal year, General Fund collections of $4.5 billion are above the official estimate by $26 million. Learn more here.
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Elk Cam is Back!
The Pennsylvania Game Commission again has installed a camera in an Elk County field that typically is a hub of elk activity during the fall mating. Video and sound from the camera are being live-streamed here, and viewers can expect not only to see elk, but turkeys, deer and other wildlife as well. The live stream is slated to run until mid-October. The best time to see elk on camera is late in the afternoon.
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| Office Locations |
| 110 North Third Street, 2nd Floor, Lehighton, PA 18235 | (610) 377-6363 |
| 2681 State Route 903, Unit 3, Albrightsville, PA 18210 | (570) 722-8700 |
| Room 403 Irvis Office Building, PO Box 202122, Harrisburg, PA 17120-2122 | (717) 260-6139 |
| Email: dheffley@pahousegop.com |
| TTY: 855-282-0614 |
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