PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II is getting tired of having his club watch the Super Bowl on TV.

Rooney would rather the Steelers be there in person on the field. And with the franchise riding a seven-year drought since its most recent postseason victory — the team’s longest gap between playoff wins since the 1970 merger — Rooney is getting antsy.

“I think all of us that have been around for a little while are anxious to take this next step and getting a little impatient and we need to see the kind of improvement we all want to see,” Rooney said on Monday.

Pittsburgh used a late-season surge to finish 10-7 and earn a wild-card berth before being quickly sent home in a first-round loss to Buffalo.

There was some speculation outside the building late in the season that longtime coach Mike Tomlin was entertaining taking a break, speculation Tomlin tamped down two weeks ago and Rooney dismissed during his season-ending news conference.

The Steelers and the NFL’s longest-tenured head coach are working on a contract extension that will keep Tomlin in town beyond the 2024 season.

“I think the players still respond to Mike and that’s No. 1,” Rooney said “He still has the key characteristics that we saw when we hired him. He can keep the attention of a group of 20-year-olds for a whole season and keep them in the fight for the whole way. So still feel good about Mike.”

Tomlin is 173-100-2 in 17 seasons with the Steelers and has never finished below .500. Yet Pittsburgh also hasn’t won a playoff game since beating Kansas City in the divisional round after the 2016 season. The Steelers have dropped five straight playoff games, four by at least double digits.

“We’ve had enough of this, it’s time to get some wins, it’s time to take these next steps,” Rooney said.

Steps the Steelers will attempt to take in 2024 with — at least for now — Kenny Pickett at quarterback. Pickett struggled at times during his first full season as the starter and served as the backup over the final two weeks as longtime third-stringer Mason Rudolph helped key a surge that carried the Steelers into the playoffs.

Despite the very obvious growing pains Rooney remains bullish on Pickett, who is under contract for at least two more seasons.

“We still feel good about Kenny Pickett and his future, but he knows he needs to work hard to take the next step,” Rooney said. “And we’ve talked about that and one of the things we liked about Kenny in terms of his career at (the University of Pittsburgh) was how hard he worked and he took a step every year. So we’re looking for that to happen here.”

Rooney indicated the Steelers are also interested in holding on to Rudolph, who can become a free agent in March. He also didn’t rule out bringing in someone else, be it in the draft or on the open market.

“You can’t discount what Mason did and can’t discount the fact that having competition will be good for everybody,” Rooney said. “And I think Mike feels that way and we all feel that way. So I’d say there’s still more to come to see who’s in the room on the quarterback room. We start camp this summer.”

More pressing than figuring out the quarterback room is figuring out who will be the one calling the plays. The Steelers are in the interview process for a new offensive coordinator and have already talked to Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson — himself a former Steeler — and former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith among others.

The goal for whoever gets the job is obvious.

“We need to do everything we can to make sure we get quality play out of our quarterback position going forward,” Rooney said, later adding, “so, somebody that believes in that and comes in and can work with this roster, do what’s kind of already built here in terms of the roster and some of the skill sets that we have; I think that’s what we’re looking for.”

Rooney added the team is finishing up a bid that will allow the club to host the NFL draft at some point in “the not-too-distant future.” The Steelers have also hired consultants to take a look at 22-year-old Acrisure Stadium to see what enhancements can be made to keep the club in the venue down the road.

“We like the stadium, think it is a great facility and with the right kinds of improvements can continue to be our home for a long time,” he said.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court said Monday that a lower court must hear a challenge to the constitutionality of a decades-old state law that limits the use of Medicaid dollars to cover the cost of abortions, a major victory for Planned Parenthood and the abortion clinic operators who sued.

The decision also elicited hope that the state Supreme Court may one day find a right to abortion in Pennsylvania’s constitution after the U.S. Supreme Court ended nearly a half-century of federal abortion protections by overturning Roe v. Wade.

The 3-2 decision both overturns a lower court decision to dismiss the case on procedural grounds and puts aside a 1985 state Supreme Court decision that upheld a law banning the use of state Medicaid dollars for abortion, except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.

Alexis McGill Johnson, Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s president and CEO, called the decision a “landmark victory for reproductive freedom.”

The high court’s majority said Monday in a 219-page decision that prior court decisions did not fully consider the breadth of state constitutional protections against discrimination, beyond those provided by the federal constitution.

The lawsuit, brought in 2019 by Planned Parenthood and other operators of abortion clinics, said the 1982 law unconstitutionally discriminates against poor women.

“Today’s ruling is the first step toward ending discriminatory access to care, and we remain committed to removing every barrier to abortion,” Signe Espinoza, executive director of Planned Parenthood of Pennsylvania’s policy arm, said in a statement.

The state House’s Republican floor leader, Rep. Bryan Cutler, had opposed the lawsuit in court and on Monday accused the state Supreme Court of “seeking to overstep its authority and change well-settled law.”

The new ruling does not necessarily find a constitutional right to an abortion in Pennsylvania, where abortion is legal under state law through 23 weeks of pregnancy.

Rather, it turns on the question of whether the state Medicaid law unconstitutionally singled out a procedure sought only by women and differentiated between women who carry to term and women who get an abortion.

Women who get an abortion receive no government funding for the reproductive care they seek, while women who carry to term receive full coverage, the majority opinion said. Seventeen other states cover abortion in their state Medicaid programs, the court said.

The lower Commonwealth Court had said in its 2022 decision that it was bound by the prior state Supreme Court decision in dismissing the lawsuit.

But the majority said the lower court must now reconsider the case under a more stringent constitutional standard.

That part of the majority opinion was written by Justice Christine Donohue and joined by Justices David Wecht and Dougherty. Dissenting were Chief Justice Debra Todd and Justice Sally Mundy, the lone Republican to take part in the decision.

Todd and Mundy disagreed that the high court had issued a flawed decision in 1985. In her dissent, Mundy wrote that the 1985 decision was “well-considered, restrained and appropriate,” and preserved the balance of power between the judicial and legislative branches.

That balance will be upset, however, if the court prevents lawmakers from advancing a state interest — for instance, encouraging childbirth over abortion — by prioritizing how to spend public money, Mundy wrote.

Justices Kevin Brobson and Daniel McCaffery joined the bench after the case was argued and didn’t participate in the decision.

In one part of the majority opinion, Donohue made it clear that she sees a state constitutional right to abortion in the existing structure of Pennsylvania’s constitution.

“We conclude that the Pennsylvania Constitution secures the fundamental right to reproductive autonomy, which includes a right to decide whether to have an abortion or to carry a pregnancy to term,” Donohue wrote.

Wecht joined that part of the opinion. However, the other three justices did not.

Dougherty said he agreed with Todd and Mundy that the case is not about the right to an abortion, but qualified it in his written opinion by saying “at least, not yet.”

David S. Cohen, a constitutional law professor at Drexel University’s law school who helped argue the case, acknowledged that a majority of the court didn’t find a fundamental right to abortion in Pennsylvania.

But, Cohen said, the issue will come back to the court in the future “and we now have a great building block to accomplish that goal.”

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

A New Castle was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to a 66-month prison sentence following a guilty plea for multiple cocaine trafficking offenses, including distributing cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school.

28-year-old Forrest Gilmore admitted in his guilty plea to distributing 450 grams of cocaine and 25 grams of crack between June 2020 and June 2021 throughout the New Castle area, following a prior 60-month trafficking sentence from which Gilmore was released into federal supervision in April 2020. 

This 66-month sentence comes with an additional six years of federal supervision following the completion of his prison sentence.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — About 1,000 engineers and conductors who work for Norfolk Southern will soon be able to report safety concerns anonymously through a federal system without any fear of discipline.

Norfolk Southern is the first of the six major freight railroads to follow through on promises made in the wake of last year’s fiery eastern Ohio derailment to join the Federal Railroad Administration’s program. The one-year pilot agreement is limited to members of just two unions who work in Atlanta, Georgia; Elkhart, Indiana; and Roanoke, Virginia.

But federal officials who urged the railroads to do more to improve safety touted the agreement Monday as a breakthrough coming just days before Saturday’s one-year anniversary of the disastrous Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that prompted temporary evacuations, a $1 billion and counting cleanup and lingering questions about long-term health consequences for residents in the area near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.

“Norfolk Southern has taken a good first step, and it’s time for the other Class I railroads to back up their talk with action and make good on their promises to join this close call reporting system and keep America’s rail network safe,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.

The major freight railroads have resisted joining the anonymous reporting system because they wanted the ability to discipline workers who use the hotline in certain circumstances. The Association of American Railroads trade group has said railroads were worried that the system could be abused by workers who try to avoid discipline by reporting situations a railroad already knows about.

Unions and workplace safety experts countered that the idea of disciplining workers who report safety concerns undermines the entire purpose of such a hotline because workers won’t use it if they fear retribution. Experts say programs like the one overseen by the Federal Railroad Administration are especially important in industries like railroads where there is a long history of workers being fired for reporting safety violations or injuries.

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw said he hopes his railroad’s agreement to join the reporting system will set an example for the rest of the industry. Shaw has been focused on improving safety and service at Norfolk Southern ever since the East Palestine derailment.

“NS is proud to partner with our labor leaders and FRA to make another industry-leading advancement in safety,” Shaw said.

Officials with the unions that signed onto the deal — the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers — praised the agreement and urged the other major freight railroads to join.

“For far too long the large railroads and their trade association, The Association of American Railroads, have paid lip service to safety,” BLET First Vice President Mark Wallace said. “The AAR prefers to spend millions of dollars on television commercials bragging about safety while backtracking on safety agreements.”

Amtrak and several dozen small railroads use the government reporting program, but none of the big freight railroads have signed on to it so only about 32,000 rail workers are covered. The big freight railroads, which include Union Pacific, CSX, Canadian National, CPKC and BNSF, collectively employ more than 100,000.

The railroads have said part of why they resisted joining the federal program is because they believe their own internal reporting systems are sufficient. But railroad unions have consistently said workers are reluctant to use the railroads’ own safety hotlines because they fear retribution.

The head of the SMART-TD conductors’ union Jeremy Ferguson said this agreement at Norfolk Southern “will allow our members to speak up when they see unsafe conditions without fear of negative repercussions.”

The railroad trade group has said that a similar safety hotline used in the aviation industry allows workers to be disciplined if they report the same safety violation more than once in a five-year period. The railroads have been pushing for a similar rule for their industry.

“Railroads have been clear about their commitment to enhance and join C3RS (the FRA’s Confidential Close Call Reporting System),” AAR spokeswoman Jessica Kahanek said. “This commitment remains unchanged.”

But FRA Administrator Amit Bose said it’s time for the railroads to move beyond promises and take action to join the program.

“The occurrence of any preventable accident, injury, or death is unacceptable, and FRA will continue to fight for the right of rail workers to help improve rail safety without fear of discipline or enforcement,” Bose said.

Former President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom before the start of closing arguments in his civil business fraud trial at New York Supreme Court, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, in New York. (Charly Triballeau/Pool Photo via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Within days, Donald Trump could have his sprawling real estate business empire ordered “dissolved” for repeated misrepresentations on financial statements to lenders, adding him to a short list of scam marketers, con artists and others who have been hit with the ultimate punishment for violating New York’s powerful anti-fraud law. An Associated Press analysis of nearly 70 years of civil cases under the law showed that such a penalty has only been imposed a dozen previous times, and Trump’s case stands apart in a significant way: It’s the only big business found that was threatened with a shutdown without a showing of obvious victims and major losses.

Harrisburg, PA — With the tax filing season opening today, the Department of Revenue is encouraging taxpayers to use a free online option to file their Pennsylvania personal income tax returns. Taxpayers can visit mypath.pa.gov to file their PA tax returns through the department’s state-only filing system.

myPATH is user friendly and can also be used to make income tax payments. The deadline to submit 2023 personal income tax returns is Monday, April 15, 2024.

“If you’re looking to avoid paying a fee to file your personal income tax return in Pennsylvania, myPATH is a great option. This free, online filing tool helps us deliver on Governor Shapiro’s promise to keep costs down for Pennsylvanians and their families,” Revenue Secretary Pat Browne said. “You can access myPATH from a computer, tablet, or mobile phone, which makes it easy to file your return at a time and place that are convenient for you.”

Important Features in myPATH

Taxpayers do not need to create a username or password to perform many functions in myPATH. That includes filing the Pennsylvania Personal Income Tax Return (PA-40), making a payment, responding to department requests for information, and checking the status of a refund.

In order to file the PA-40, taxpayers will need to provide their Social Security number and either: (1) the tax liability for a previous tax year; or (2) their birth date, Pennsylvania driver’s license/photo ID number, and the expiration date for the license/photo ID. myPATH offers error-reducing automatic calculators and provides instant confirmation that your return has been successfully filed.

If you choose to create a username and password in myPATH, you’ll have the ability to update or view detailed account information and notices. You can also manage third-party access to your account, meaning you can give a tax professional or another person access to file your return and make payments on your behalf.

Spanish Resources for Filing

myPATH has an option for Spanish-speaking Pennsylvania taxpayers to file the PA Personal Income Tax Return (PA-40). In addition, the department has an informational video in Spanish with step-by-step instructions on how to use myPATH to file a PA-40 as part of its Revenue411 video series.

April 15 Deadline

All taxpayers who received more than $33 in total gross taxable income in calendar year 2023 must file a Pennsylvania personal income tax return by midnight, Monday, April 15, 2024.

Taxpayer Service and Assistance

Personal income tax assistance is available through the department’s Online Customer Service Center and by calling 717-787-8201 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Online Customer Service Center contains answers to hundreds of common income tax questions and allows taxpayers to securely submit a question to the department through a process that is similar to sending an email.

Taxpayers may also visit a Department of Revenue district office for state personal income tax filing assistance. Assistance at district offices is available from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Customers are encouraged to call ahead to make appointments and they should also bring their Social Security cards and photo identification with them to facilitate tax filing.

Taxpayers can check the status of their refunds online by selecting the Where’s My Income Tax Refund? link on the department’s homepage; or by calling 1-888-PATAXES. Taxpayers will be prompted to provide their Social Security number and requested refund amount to obtain the current status.

Free tax forms and instructions are available at revenue.pa.gov.

FILE – An historical marker at the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., is seen on Feb. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Harrisburg, PA – The Shapiro Administration invites all first through sixth grade students in Pennsylvania to enter the 2024 Lyme Art Contest by creating a short video or poster focusing on the theme: “Protect. Check. Remove.”

The annual contest helps students, scout troops, and community youth programs learn how to prevent Lyme disease by educating them about ticks, including where they live, how to prevent bites, and how to remove ticks that do bite.

The deadline for entries is 5:00 PM, March 15, 2024. Contest information can be found on the Department of Health’s website.

Pennsylvania has one of the highest annual counts of Lyme disease cases in the nation, which further emphasizes the importance of teaching children about tick awareness and prevention measures.

Officials from the Departments of Health (DOH), Education (PDE), Environmental Protection (DEP), and Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) encourage young students to participate in the contest and help raise awareness of this disease.

“The Department of Health strongly encourages being outside as part of a healthy lifestyle. However, it is important to make a habit of checking yourself, your children, and pets for ticks that may carry Lyme disease,” said Acting Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen. “For the health of all Pennsylvanians, children and adults alike, it is important to learn how ticks transmit disease, take steps to prevent tick bites, learn how to remove ticks if found on the body, and seek timely medical treatment when needed to protect against Lyme disease.”

Finalists will be notified by mail and will be invited to an award ceremony at the State Capitol in May. In 2023, nine winners were recognized at a ceremony with representatives from DOH, PDE, and DCNR.

“It is of paramount importance for all Pennsylvanians to be aware of the dangerous effects of tick bites and Lyme disease,” said Secretary of Education Dr. Khalid N. Mumin. “This art contest provides students with a creative way to combine their health and science knowledge with art to help raise awareness as tick season approaches.”

Ticks are usually found in shrubs, weeds, leaf litter, and tall grasses, but can be found anywhere there is grass.

“This annual competition to raise awareness about ticks and Lyme disease is critical in helping Pennsylvanians safely enjoy the outdoors and find new adventures across the Commonwealth,” said DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn. “Thank you to the departments of Health, Education, and Environmental Protection for prioritizing healthy outdoor habits through this creative initiative.”

“Exploring Pennsylvania’s beautiful environment is a huge opportunity available to everyone, but it is important we understand how to protect ourselves against ticks,” said DEP Interim Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley. “It is encouraging to see young people championing tick prevention, as they can truly make an impact. By raising awareness of ticks and tick-borne illnesses, we can help prevent Lyme disease cases, and safeguard our memorable moments outdoors.”

When exploring outside, it is important to take the proper steps to protect yourself from the chances of getting bitten like covering exposed skin, wearing light colors to help detect ticks, and using an EPA-approved insect repellent. Use permethrin spray on shoes, clothes, and gear as an added protection before spending time outdoors.

After being outside, check yourself, your children, and your pets thoroughly for ticks and remove any that you find. Then, shower to help remove any ticks you may have missed. You can also throw your clothes in the dryer using high heat to help kill any ticks that might still be stuck to your clothes.

For more information on preventing Lyme disease, visit the Department of Health’s website at Tickborne Diseases (pa.gov) or follow the Department of Health on Facebook and X.

Harrisburg, PA — Today, Governor Josh Shapiro announced that his 2024-25 budget proposal will include his plan for the first increase in the state share of public transit funding in over a decade. Governor Shapiro’s proposal will increase the state share of public transit funding by 1.75% – a $282.8 million investment, and nearly $1.5 billion in new state funding over five years, in transit systems that Pennsylvanians rely on in his 2024-25 budget proposal.

“Hundreds of thousands of people across our Commonwealth rely on public transit every day to commute to work, go to school, and get to where they need to go – and Pennsylvanians deserve clean, safe, cost-effective ways to travel throughout our cities and towns,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “That’s true all across our Commonwealth, whether you’re traveling to work in Philadelphia on SEPTA or you’re a student in Pittsburgh using PRT to get to school. Investing in and improving our public transit systems is a commonsense way to create good-paying jobs, spur economic development, and help Pennsylvanians reach their destinations safely. For months, my Administration has worked with local public transit leadership and elected officials to understand their needs and I now call on the General Assembly to join me in making the first significant investment in Pennsylvania’s public transit systems in over a decade.”

Governor Shapiro knows millions of Pennsylvanians rely on public transit every single day to get to work, go to school, see their families, and travel – and clean, safe, on-time public transit is a key driver of economic development. Well-run buses, trains, and trolleys help attract new companies to Pennsylvania, make it easier for folks to get to work and do business, and will be critical as millions of visitors come to Pennsylvania for America’s 250^th anniversary, the FIFA World Cup, and the MLB All Star Game in 2026, and many other exciting events in Pennsylvania in the years to come.

That’s why Governor Shapiro’s upcoming budget will include a significant investment in transit systems to support Pennsylvanians’ travel needs and spur economic growth. This is a statewide investment benefiting multiple regions across the Commonwealth.

“As the son of a union bus driver, I know firsthand how public transit connects our communities, opens up doors of opportunity for working families, and drives economic growth,” said Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis. “Pittsburgh Regional Transit helps tens of thousands of people in Southwest Pennsylvania every day, and I’m proud the Shapiro-Davis plan would enable PRT and other public transit systems to better serve their riders and communities.”

Governor Shapiro knows that funding for public transit is especially critical in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Over the last several months, the Governor and his Administration have been working closely with SEPTA, the General Assembly, local leadership, and public transit partners to assess their needs and prepare a serious proposal to address them.

As part of the discussions around this proposal, the Governor insisted SEPTA address concerns about cleanliness and safety on the system – and he has asked local counties in Southeastern Pennsylvania whose residents benefit from the system to meet this moment with additional support.

“Ever since I was a State Representative and County Commissioner in Montgomery County, I have supported SEPTA and the critical services it offers to hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians every day. SEPTA has presented plans to address safety and cleanliness throughout their system, and county officials have entertained a willingness to step up to the plate and increase their support – as a result, my Administration is prepared to make a major investment in SEPTA,” said Governor Shapiro.

Governor Shapiro and his Administration have orchestrated conversations between SEPTA and the five counties that rely on and benefit from SEPTA service to discuss how they can also contribute to the system’s funding needs – and they have entertained a willingness to meet this moment with additional financial support.

The Governor’s plan would deliver the funding needed to avoid immediate service cuts or fare increases on SEPTA and would create a more balanced and stable funding structure for SEPTA for the future.

“I want to thank Governor Shapiro – who has been proactively engaged with SEPTA and our partners for months in order to construct this strong funding proposal to address our most pressing needs and enable SEPTA to continue serving our communities. The Governor knows how critical public transit is for Southeastern Pennsylvania, and his proposal would deliver the critical funding we need – providing additional support for SEPTA for the first time in over a decade,” said SEPTA CEO and General Manager Leslie S. Richards. “In these discussions, the Governor has also made clear his expectations that we at SEPTA step up to address our community’s serious concerns about cleanliness and safety. We are committed to addressing these concerns so that all SEPTA riders can feel safe as they travel where they need to go. I appreciate the Governor’s hard work of bringing people together to forge a proposal that delivers real solutions – and I look forward to working with the General Assembly and local leaders to get this done.”

Governor Shapiro looks forward to working with members of the General Assembly, local leaders, and public transit partners to get this done for Pennsylvania.

Harrisburg, PA – Today, Pennie – PA’s official health insurance marketplace – announced that a record nearly 435,000 Pennsylvanians are now covered with affordable, high-quality health coverage through Pennie. This represents a 17% increase compared to this time last year, far exceeding the average annual increase of 1%. Marketplace enrollment has increased by over 150,000 in the four years since Pennsylvania took over ownership and operations from the federal marketplace (healthcare.gov) – a 56% increase.

“We are beyond thrilled to see Pennie’s enrollment numbers skyrocket for 2024, knowing this means so many more Pennsylvanians have chosen to protect their health and their savings this year,” said Pennie Executive Director Devon Trolley. “Pennie strives to ensure every Pennsylvanian has the benefits of health coverage, and we will continue to serve as a trusted and objective source for affordable and high-quality coverage.”

The record high enrollment numbers are proof that the increased federal premium subsidies through the Inflation Reduction Act are helping more Pennsylvania families than ever to enroll in coverage. Across Pennie customers, the increased subsidies reduce premiums by an additional 45%, compared to the baseline subsidies alone. Pennie is the only place where Pennsylvanians can get these financial savings to reduce the cost of coverage and care. Nine in 10 enrollees qualify and save more than $500 a month on average.

“The Pennsylvania Insurance Department (PID) is here to help our consumers – and we aim to make sure all Pennsylvanians are protected through fair and effective regulation of the marketplace. This record-breaking number in enrollment is a tremendous milestone because it means more Pennsylvanians than ever have secured an affordable plan through Pennie, benefitting from one of many options in our competitive and robust marketplace,” said Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Michael Humphreys. “PID and Pennie will continue working together to ensure that we reach Pennsylvanians who are still without health insurance and help them access and find affordable and high-quality coverage through Pennie.”

The recent success is also due in part to Pennie’s collaboration with Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services (DHS) to ensure individuals who are no longer eligible for Medicaid have a clear path to enroll through Pennie.

“As a physician, I have seen firsthand how lack of access to high-quality, affordable health coverage can take a toll on a person’s overall health and wellbeing. That is why DHS and Pennie have worked together for over a year to ensure that Pennsylvanians stay covered amid major federal changes to Medicaid and CHIP,” said DHS Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh. “Every Pennsylvanian deserves the dignity of knowing they can go to the doctor or fill a prescription when they need it, and it is a huge accomplishment that more Pennsylvanians than ever have the peace of mind that comes with having coverage to keep themselves and their families healthy.”

Although the annual Pennie Open Enrollment period is now closed until November 1, 2024, any Pennsylvanian looking for coverage before then will need a qualifying life event to enroll through Pennie. Qualifying life events – such as losing other coverage (including job coverage or Medicaid), moving to Pennsylvania, having a baby, and more – will allow for a time-limited Special Enrollment Period. Those still without coverage may qualify to enroll through Path to Pennie this tax season while filing their Pennsylvania tax return. Learn more at pennie.com/pathtopennie.

Current Pennie customers should update their Pennie account throughout the year, especially if their household size or income changes.

If any Pennsylvanian finds themselves or a household member without health coverage during the year, they should explore their affordable, quality health coverage options through pennie.com or Pennie Customer Service at 1-844-844-8040.