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Plan for PA roads and state police

The Pennsylvania General Assembly and Gov. Tom Wolf have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help fix our deteriorating roads and bridges while also solving the funding dilemma of the Pennsylvania State Police. The plan is so simple, and makes so much sense, that it almost surely won’t happen. Wolf and the General Assembly should use a portion of the $7 billion federal COVID stimulus money to support the state police budget for two years. Currently $700 million — that’s $700 million — is diverted from state road construction each year to backfill our state police budget ...

Community pharmacies support structure

The COVID-19 pandemic changed our healthcare system more in the last year than during any period in modern history. And while the pandemic tested our health-care system, some of the resulting changes have been for the better. We are finally making it more convenient for patients to access care, more fully utilizing the capabilities and proximity of our community pharmacists. As a pharmacist with a long history working across the entire pharmaceutical supply chain, I have always believed in the need for greater pharmacist-patient interaction, as well as for policies that protect ...

No reason to change election laws

Trump Vote Comparison 2016-2020 PDF The Pennsylvania General Assembly intends to take up legislation this month to roll back bipartisan laws that expanded access to the polls. One proposal would limit no-excuse absentee ballots in a state that already has some of the most restrictive election laws in the country. The best outcome for these bills, advocated by Republicans in both the state Senate and House, would be that they never come to a vote. If passed into law, an extremely unlikely result with Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf poised to exercise a veto, the voter restrictions would ...

Preserve patient-provider relationship

The relationship between patients and their health care providers is the cornerstone of America’s medical system, one built on the trust that prescribed treatments and medications lead to healing and improved quality of life for the patient. Unfortunately, as we see in Pennsylvania and across the nation, the more stakeholders who interfere with this relationship, the more that foundation is eroded. We see this perhaps most immediately in prior authorization and step therapy policies. Health insurance providers are implementing these practices at an increased rate, creating ...

‘Woke’ Penn State has gone too far

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Penn State is getting swept up by the “woke” movement, coddling and bribing the young adults they are entrusted to teach and shape into future leaders. And leading the charge is the University Faculty Senate, at this long-cherished institution that receives $350 million a year of taxpayer dollars. Last month, it was announced that the University Faculty Senate made the decision to do away with traditional terms identifying students as “freshmen,” “sophomores,” “juniors,” and “seniors.” Instead, students will be referred to ...

In trans debate, stand up for girls

It seems like only yesterday, but it was in the 1970s when my father, Milt Neuman, ran for a seat on the school board in Altoona. His dream was to create a women’s tennis team at AAHS so that his only daughter could compete in a sport that might lead to a college scholarship and opportunities beyond. My dad’s decision to run and his election changed the course of my life. I received a scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania and one of the highlights of my college career was competing on the tennis and swimming teams. Now we are facing legislation that will allow ...