Applications are now being accepted for PA Fair Care – a subsidized state insurance program for people with pre-existing medical conditions who have been unable to obtain health coverage on the private market.

To apply, or for more information, visit www.PaFairCare.com or call 1-888-767-7015.

PA Fair Care will be administered statewide through Highmark Blue Shield.

Subsidized premiums will be $283.20/month, and the plan's benefit package includes:

• Preventive care;
• Physician services;
• Diagnostic testing;
• Hospitalization;
• Mental health services;
• Prescription medications.

Feel free to pass this information on to anyone you know who might find it helpful.

Please contact me if you need more information, or if I may help you with any other state government-related question.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency is adding bisphenol-A, or BPA, to its list of chemicals of concern. This will mean new EPA studies to determine its presence in surface water, groundwater and drinking water, and will require manufacturers that use BPA to provide test data to help evaluate its effects on growth, reproduction and development in aquatic organisms and wildlife. In January, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a statement expressing concern about the human health risks of BPA, which the agency had declared unsafe in 2008.

These two actions by federal agencies give credence to my H.B. 221, which would prohibit the manufacture or sale in Pennsylvania of baby bottles, training cups, formula cans or other child-care items that contain BPA.

My H.B. 221 would prohibit the manufacture or sale in Pennsylvania of baby bottles, training cups, formula cans and other child-care items containing bisphenol A. The House Consumer Affairs Committee recently held a public hearing on the bill, and WPVI Channel 6 Action News is preparing to air a story about BPA in infant formula cans and other items you may have in your home.  

The House Consumer Affairs Committee recently held a public hearing on my H.B. 221 that would prohibit the manufacture or sale in Pennsylvania of baby bottles, training cups, formula cans and other child-care items that contain bisphenol A.   

Please visit my Web site to learn more about this important effort and to see my comments from the hearing and read my paper on BPA. 

Applications for the state Persian Gulf Conflict Veterans' Bonus Program are available at my PA House Web site.

Under the program, eligible Persian Gulf War veterans can receive $75 for each month of service in the first Persian Gulf War. Prisoners of war and the families of troops who died as a result of the war can receive $5,000.

To qualify for the program, a veteran must have served on active duty in the Persian Gulf during the period from Aug. 2, 1990, to Aug. 31, 1991; received the Southwest Asia Service Medal; been a legal resident of Pennsylvania at the time of military service; and served under honorable conditions.

Rep. Curry hosts a hearing of the House Health & Human Services Committee regarding legislation he has introduced that would establish a Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Education and Prevention Program in Pennsylvania to help new parents learn how to reduce the threat of SIDS by using safe sleeping practices for newborns and infants.

With a photo of her daughter behind her, Christina Valentin of Philadelphia testifies at Rep. Curry's hearing on SIDS. Velentin's infant daughter, Carmen, died last spring when she fell asleep in her parents' bed and smothered when her father rolled over her in his sleep. Valentin said if she had known the importance of safe sleeping practices for infants, she would have never put the baby to sleep in her bed.

Eileen Carlins, director and support educator of SIDS of Pennsylvania, who lost a child to SIDS, testifies at Rep. Curry's hearing that the number of SIDS deaths in Pennsylvania could be cut if parents understood safe sleeping habits for newborns and infants, which include laying the infant on his or her back in an uncluttered crib with a firm mattress covered by a tightly fitting sheet. Infants should never be put to sleep in parent's or sibling's bed.

Rep. Curry attends a House Education Committee hearing on how to educate the state’s gifted students.

Rep. Curry hosts a House Insurance Committee hearing on his bill that would establish a standard of care for people with hemophilia and other bleeding disorders. The hearing was held at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.