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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Bill Kortz |
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Kortz hails House work on health coverage expansion plan
DRAVOSBURG, March 12 – State Rep. Bill Kortz, D-Allegheny, said the House could vote as early as next week on landmark health-care legislation that would expand access to affordable health insurance to hundreds of thousands of working adults in Pennsylvania.
House Democrats today added an amendment to Senate legislation (S.B. 1137) that would create a Pennsylvania Access to Basic Care program. PA ABC would offer access to subsidized or low-cost health insurance to more than 270,000 uninsured Pennsylvanians.
“This is a measure that would improve people's quality of life,” Kortz said. “It gives hope to working adults and their families who aren’t insured and currently can't get insured."
PA ABC would provide coverage at low or no-cost premiums to adults without insurance who earn less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level – about $42,000 a year for a family of four. People who earn up to 300 percent of the poverty level, or who can't get private insurance because of a pre-existing condition, could also get coverage under the state program – about $311 a month. The program would also allow small businesses to provide health coverage to their employees through PA ABC, and would reward small employers that already provide coverage to their workers with state grants.
PA ABC would feature benefits such as prescription drug coverage, inpatient and outpatient care, inpatient and outpatient behavioral health services, preventive and wellness care, chronic disease management, emergency care, home health and hospice care, emergency dental care, maternity care and 30 days of skilled nursing.
Kortz said PA ABC would lower health-care costs for all Pennsylvania residents.
“People without health-care coverage are forced to use the emergency room as their primary care physician,” Kortz said. “That costs hospitals $1.4 billion a year in uncompensated care and drives up the cost of insurance premiums for every policy holder.
"In Allegheny County alone, there are nearly 8,000 uninsured people on the waiting list to receive coverage under the current adultBasic program," he said. "PA ABC would immediately get these people covered and offer benefits to thousands more across the state. This is a priority that can no longer wait; it is the right thing to do."
More information PA ABC can be found online at www.pahouse.com.
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