Senate Bill 1137:  PA Access to Basic Care

Background

Our health care system is the most expensive in the world.  Yet as a system, it fails to come close to providing the best health care in the world.  Medical costs currently consume 16 percent of our national income and are expected to grow to 20 percent by 2015.  This has become a heavy economic burden that adds significantly to the cost of virtually every product and transaction in our economy.  Many employers are trying to shed this cost by shifting the cost of health insurance to their employees or by abandoning health insurance coverage altogether.  Thus, a growing percentage of people living in the United States are uninsured. 

Despite Medicare, the Veterans Administration, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, there are still approximately 800,000 adult Pennsylvanians, below age 65, that do not have any health insurance and are not eligible for government-funded insurance.  Many access health care via emergency rooms, which they utilize when medical problems are acute.  If they suffer from a chronic disease, often a medical professional does not manage their treatment.  The un-insured often cannot fill their prescriptions or, if they do, they cannot afford to take prescription drugs in the recommended dosages.  They are usually forced to pay retail prices for both medical treatment and medications which they often cannot afford.  When costs pile up, many choose bankruptcy as the way out.

Senate Bill 1137, which passed the House on March 17, 2008 and establishes PA Access to Basic Care (PA ABC), would provide affordable insurance coverage for over 200,000 low-income adults.  People living at 150% of the federal poverty level or below and making $15,600 or less a year ($31,800 for a family of 4), would have no monthly premiums!  Through a minimal contribution from their employers they will be able to begin seeing primary care physicians, taking their prescriptions in appropriate dosages, and stop frequent visits to the emergency room.  People living at up to 300% of the federal poverty level would also be eligible for coverage, paying a premium ranging from $40 to $311 a month.

Furthermore, PA Access to Basic Care protects people currently insured by struggling small businesses by providing small employers with grants to help subsidize health care costs.  This provision provides an incentive and support for small businesses to continue existing coverage freeing thousands of Pennsylvanians from the worry that they could lose their insurance at any moment.  Additionally, people unemployed for more than 6 months would have the opportunity to purchase affordable coverage.  PA ABC promotes a health care system that values the balance of contributions from government, employers, and individuals.