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SB 373

An Act amending Title 71 (State Government) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in boards and offices, providing for information technology and security.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Rosemary Brown and 5 co-sponsors

Prohibits clinicians from denying care to minors who delay or vary the CDC vaccination schedule, while preserving required vaccines and mandating new rulemaking.

Referred to Communications & Technology
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Bill Summary · SB 373

SB 373 — Vaccination Schedule Variance / Minors

Status: Passed 1st Reading
Introduced: February 13, 2025
Short title used in text: California Accountability for Placements in Education Act (note: bill title for this version — see bill documents)

Note: The bill text included in the materials creates a new statutory protection for minors who (or whose parents/guardians) elect to delay or vary the timing/frequency of recommended childhood vaccinations. Below is a concise summary of the bill’s purpose, principal provisions, who is affected, and procedural/timeline items.

Purpose and intent

The bill aims to prevent minors from being refused medical care solely because the minor (or the minor’s parent/guardian) declines or delays compliance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended childhood immunization schedule. It seeks to ensure access to health care while preserving the State’s ability to require vaccinations when public-health law mandates them.

Key provisions

  • Adds a new statutory section (proposed § 90‑21.5A) to the state health/medical practice law that:

    • Prohibits a health care practitioner or hospital from refusing to accept a minor as a patient solely because the minor (or their parent/guardian) refuses the timing/frequency of the CDC child immunization schedule.
    • Clarifies that this protection for schedule variance or delay does not override mandatory vaccination requirements under existing public-health statutes (cites G.S. 130A‑152). In other words, refusal to vaccinate where the law requires vaccination remains subject to public-health rules.
    • Defines “health care practitioner” for this section to mean physicians, physician assistants, and advanced practice registered nurses (APRN) who are licensed to administer immunizations.
    • Declares violation of the section to constitute “unprofessional conduct” subject to enforcement by the practitioner’s occupational licensing board.

  • Requires rulemaking:

    • The North Carolina Medical Board and the Board of Nursing must adopt implementing rules.
    • The Commission for Public Health must adopt rules to allow for exemptions under G.S. 130A‑152(c)(1) so minors may lawfully elect to delay administration of immunizations consistent with this statute.

Who is affected

  • Primary beneficiaries: minors and their parents/guardians who choose to delay or vary the CDC immunization schedule.
  • Regulated parties: physicians, PAs, APRNs, hospitals/medical practices, and professional licensing boards.
  • Public-health authorities: Commission for Public Health (responsible for rule adjustments and maintaining mandatory vaccination authority where applicable).

Potential impacts

  • Access to care: reduces the risk that a provider will decline to accept a minor solely for noncompliance with the CDC schedule, preserving continuity of medical care.
  • Administrative: licensing boards and the Commission for Public Health must promulgate rules to implement the statute; providers may need to update intake/admission policies and staff training.
  • Legal balance: maintains state public-health authority to require vaccinations where the law mandates them while protecting providers’ ethical/public-health duties and minors’ access to non-discriminatory care.

Procedural / timeline notes

  • Introduced: February 13, 2025 (per bill information provided).
  • Current status (per provided bill header): Passed 1st Reading.
  • Effective dates in the bill text: Section creating the patient‑access protection becomes effective October 1, 2025; remaining provisions effective on enactment (or as specified in final enrolled act).
  • Next steps (if still in early stage): committee hearings, adoption of board rules, and final legislative action (if not yet enacted).

If you want, I can:
- extract exact statutory language and place it side-by-side with current controlling provisions (G.S. 130A‑152) to show how this bill interacts with existing public-health requirements; or
- prepare a short checklist practices can use to comply with the new rule once it is adopted.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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