A group of House Republicans is threatening to withhold nearly $32 million in state funds from Philadelphia largest private employer on its employee vaccine policy.
IN letter of June 3, 25 House Republicans told the University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia they would oppose any state budget plan that provided public dollars to the system because the system required all staff to be vaccinated by Sept. 1.
A system that works seven hospitalsthis policy was announced on May 20. PennMedicine said at the time that 11,000 of its 44,000 employees had not yet been vaccinated. statement then.
Employees who cannot be vaccinated for medical or religious reasons will have to apply for an exemption, similar to the flu vaccination policy that the system has had in place for more than a decade.
In their letter, Republican lawmakers, led by Republican state Rep. Andrew Lewis, R-Dauphin, called the policy “deeply discriminatory.”
“The medical privacy of all Pennsylvanians must be protected,” the letter concludes. “By taking these actions, we affirm our sacred obligation to protect the privacy, dignity and freedom of our constituents.”
Lewis told the Capital-Star that PennMedicine employees contacted him and asked him to highlight the issue.
According to an email PennMedicine sent to Lewis and shared with the Capital-Star, requests for exemptions from the vaccine policy “will be carefully evaluated and are not guaranteed.”
If a system employee received a vaccine exemption, it could be “re-evaluated as circumstances change,” according to the email.
Lewis told the Capital-Star he wants this exemption guaranteed.
“For me, the goal has nothing to do with the vaccine itself,” Lewis told the Capital-Star. “I have always been a forceful supporter of vaccines. It’s about protecting freedom and that’s it.”
said Patrick Norton, PennMedicine’s vice president of public affairs in a statement that the system had contacted Lewis and would discuss his concerns in detail.
Lewis said the two sides are scheduled to meet on Wednesday.
The expansive majority of state funding – $31.6 million – goes to the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, according to the latest state budget. The state contributed another $295,000 to PennMedicine’s infectious disease division.
This is just a drop in the ocean of the state’s more than $30 billion annual budget, which must be approved by June 30. Negotiations on the proposal are ongoing between Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and the GOP-controlled General Assembly.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Stan Saylor, R-York, told the Capital-Star he is aware of the issue but has not yet spoken to his colleagues or PennMedicine or taken a position yet.
Among them is the University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary school top in the countryand the sudden attempt to defund him came as a surprise to Wayne Campbell, president of the Pennsylvania Grange.
“This is research that helps keep us alive, fed and growing agriculture,” Campbell said. “If you disagree, that’s fine, but let’s sit down and talk about it. Let’s not punish everyone by taking away funds.”
Animal agriculture is a vast part of Pennsylvania’s agricultural industry, noted Vince Phillips, a retired Harrisburg lobbyist who worked on agricultural issues.
Penn-trained veterinarians keep these animals vigorous and productive. Any cuts to the veterinary program “would be one of the most shortsighted things the General Assembly has done,” Phillips said in an email.
“I don’t know UPenn’s vaccination policy and honestly, I don’t care,” he added. “The point is that the vaccine is an external issue and does not and should not concern the School of Veterinary Medicine.”
As for Philadelphia, Democratic state Rep. Jason Dawkins, chairman of that city’s delegation in the House, likened the push to Republicans’ ongoing crusade to take over the Commonwealth’s largest city whenever something the GOP opposes happens.
“It always amazes me that they are so interested in a place they don’t like,” Dawkins said. “You don’t mind taking our taxes, but you don’t mind us using our taxes the way we want to use our taxes.”
