Bucks & Montgomery: Tell Rep. Fitzpatrick PA-01 Families Need Affordable Health Care, Not More D.C. Delays
Families across Bucks County and parts of Montgomery County are paying more for health care, thousands have already dropped Pennie coverage, and federal Medicaid cuts threaten coverage and local hospitals. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick helped the original H.R. 1 pass the House by a single vote before later voting against the Senate-amended final bill. Tell him a final NO does not erase the first YES, and PA-01 families need him to use his influence now to deliver an affordable health care solution.
BACKGROUND
No one in Bucks County, Montgomery County, or anywhere in Pennsylvania should have to lose health coverage because Congress failed to make health care affordable or protect the programs families depend on.
At the beginning of 2026 Open Enrollment, 34,935 people in Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District — all of Bucks County and part of Montgomery County — were enrolled in health coverage through Pennie. By the end of March, 7,402 had already terminated their coverage — 21% of the district’s starting enrollment.
Since then, the Healthcare affordability crisis has only deepened. Countywide data as of August 1 shows that 33% of Pennie enrollees in Bucks County and 37% in Montgomery County had terminated their coverage — meaning roughly one in three people who had Pennie coverage in these counties are no longer enrolled. Statewide, more than 191,000 Pennsylvanians have canceled Pennie coverage.
Why are so many thousands cancelling coverage? The enhanced federal premium tax credits expired at the end of 2025, and Pennie reports that enrollees had to pay twice as much on average to keep their plans in 2026. Pennie also reports that higher costs are the leading reason people are cancelling coverage.
And the pain does not stop there. H.R. 1 — the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — made the situation worse by enacting sweeping changes to Medicaid that threaten coverage and health care providers across Pennsylvania. In PA-01 alone, an additional 10,827 additional people could lose Medicaid coverage as the law is implemented.
Local hospitals are at risk too. Lower Bucks Hospital in Bristol is one of 47 Pennsylvania hospitals identified as having moderate to significant risk factors for closure because of Medicaid cuts. Want to learn more? Read the Pennsylvania Policy Center’s report, From Progress to Peril, on how federal health care changes threaten coverage, affordability, and Pennsylvania’s health care system.
Congress can still act. Lawmakers can restore enhanced premium tax credits that helped families afford Pennie coverage, reverse harmful Medicaid cuts, and protect the hospitals and health care providers that communities rely on.
Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick’s record requires the full story. He voted YES on the original House bill, helping it pass 215–214 and advance to the Senate. That House bill already contained major Medicaid cuts. He later voted NO on the Senate-amended final bill. He has also backed bipartisan proposals to extend the enhanced premium tax credits — but Congress still allowed those credits to expire, and PA-01 families are paying the price.
A later “no” vote does not erase the first YES — and it does not lower anyone’s health care bill. Fitzpatrick calls himself a bipartisan problem solver. PA-01 families need more than bipartisan credentials: they need results. He should use his position and influence to bring Republican and Democratic colleagues together and deliver a solution that protects Medicaid and makes health coverage affordable again.
Tell Rep. Fitzpatrick to work with House leadership and Republican and Democratic colleagues to:
- Restore enhanced premium tax credits so families in Bucks County and the parts of Montgomery County he represents can afford Pennie coverage again.
- Reverse or stop harmful Medicaid cuts before they push thousands of PA-01 residents off their health insurance and increase pressure on local providers.
- Use his leadership as Co-Chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus and his seat on the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee to press House leadership, recruit Republican and Democratic votes, and move a bipartisan solution – not simply cast his own vote after the outcome is already taking shape.
These steps would lower health insurance costs for Pennsylvania families, help prevent even more people from becoming uninsured, and reduce growing financial pressure on hospitals, state budgets, and health care providers across the Commonwealth.
Send your message today and tell Congressman Fitzpatrick: PA-01 needs more than a vote after the damage is done. We need leadership that delivers affordable health care.
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