House Republicans followed through Monday on their threat to kill a provision written by the state Senate to require Gov. Tom Corbett to seek federal approval for an expansion of Medicaid eligibility to provide taxpayer-paid health care to hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians.

The plan is the only part to advance from Gov. Corbett's proposal to cut $12B from future pension benefits.

Gov. Tom Corbett is pressing the federal government for an exemption that he said will prevent about 70,000 Pennsylvania children from having to switch to Medicaid.

Gov. Tom Corbett's meeting with U.S. Health and Human Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on whether he'll seek an expansion of Medicaid to provide health care to hundreds of thousands of low-income Pennsylvania adults comes as state revenues are lagging his projections.

Gov. Tom Corbett may not announce whether he will support the expansion of Medicaid under the federal health care law when he delivers his budget address to the Legislature on Tuesday.

Pennsylvania will not set up its own health care exchange under the federal Affordable Care Act, at least not for now, Gov. Tom Corbett said Wednesday, putting the state on a course to join others led by Republicans that will let President Barack Obama's administration run its exchange.

Gov. Tom Corbett said Monday that Pennsylvania apparently lacks the political will to become a "right-to-work" state, a key issue for conservatives as Republicans in fellow industrial state Michigan prepare to pass such a law over the protests of organized labor.

Pennsylvania's economy is struggling, if a Thursday report from the state on July's hiring and unemployment rate is an indication.