PAMED May 2026 Legislative Roundup

The Pennsylvania General Assembly met in session throughout most of April and the first week of May but is now out until coming back in June for the annual budget push.

As expected, the legislative agenda thus far has been dominated by elections. The gubernatorial election will take place this November as will all 203 PA House seats and 25 of the 50 PA Senate seats.

Given this environment, the Republican controlled Senate and the Democratic controlled House have moved a number of bills in 2026 that have no chance of passing the other chamber but are intended to send political messages to the electorate.

The General Assembly has also positioned bills for the negotiations that are a necessary element of reaching agreement on the annual budget. We expect a very active June in the Capitol.

PAMED has been advocating for two bills that were supported by PA American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and were recently signed into law:

• Midwives – Senate Bill 507 (Brown), a bill that would update provisions in the Medical Practice Act of 1985 regarding the practice of midwifery to include licensing certified midwives. The bill passed the Senate in October, the House in April and was signed into law by the Governor as Act 14 of 2026.
• Midwives – House Bill 1251 (Curry), a bill that would allow midwives to refer patients for physical therapy and allows physical therapists to accept such referrals for conditions within the midwife’s scope of practice. The bill passed the House last December, the Senate in April and signed into law as Act 12 of 2026.

PAMED is continuing to monitor and advocate on key issues including:

• Maternal Health- House Bill 1088 (Steele) and House Bill 1234 (Mayes), legislation requiring both private and government-provided health insurance to cover blood pressure monitors for pregnant or postpartum patients passed the House and are awaiting consideration in the Senate. PAMED is asking the Senate to vote yes for House Bill 1088 and 1234.
• Private Equity – There has been significant legislative interest in getting something done on regulating the involvement of private equity in healthcare. Numerous bills have been introduced, and public hearings have been held on this issue, in both the House and Senate. To date only House Bill 1460 (Borowski) has moved, passing the House last summer. That bill was referred to the Senate Institutional Sustainability and Innovation Committee and the committee continues to work on the issue but does not appear ready to move legislation at this time. PAMED supports this bill and we ask the General Assembly to support common sense legislation to regulate private equity in health care. 
• Scope of Practice – PAMED remains vigilant on all scope of practice legislation and continues to advocate for physician-led team-based care. Senate Bill 25 (Bartolotta) and House Bill 739 (Guenst) on independent practice for nurse practitioners, House Bill 1000 (Frankel) on prescriptive authority for psychologists, and Senate Bill 197 (Brown) physical therapist direct access are just some of the scope of practice bills we are actively engaged on. PAMED opposes these bills and are asking the House and Senate to vote no on scope creep. 
• Artificial Intelligence use in Healthcare – PAMED continues to watch several bills that address the use of AI in healthcare.  Thus far only House Bill 1925 (Venkat) has seen some movement but there seems to be a real desire to do something on this issue and we anticipate seeing legislation move in June. PAMED supports this bill and asks state representatives to support House Bill 1925 and will continue to ask the Senate to introduce similar legislation. 

Keep these legislative asks in mind when you're interacting with your state public officials.