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COLUMN |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State Rep.
Nick Kotik |
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July 2009
Devastating events in our lives can happen in the blink of an eye. A sudden illness, accident or the onset of a life-threatening disease can take away our health just like that. Unfortunately, if you don't have health insurance to help pay for medical treatment, much more than your health can be taken away if you can't afford to foot the bill all on your own.
Beyond that, thousands of working Pennsylvanians right here in Allegheny County leading typical everyday lives get up and go to work, but have nowhere to turn if they get sick. Far too often you hear the story of someone who works full-time but their employer simply cannot afford to offer insurance. So, many of our citizens either work without health-care benefits and hope they don’t get sick, or they try to enroll in the adultBasic health insurance program and are relegated to a long waiting list that can sometimes take up to two years to get coverage. We're working to make that a thing of the past.
Recently, my colleagues and I in the state House passed H.B. 1. I equate this bill to priority No. 1: affordable and accessible health insurance coverage. This plan would offer affordable coverage to thousands of Pennsylvanians who currently have no access to health insurance and have been waiting for help from the state for years.
The bill would expand the adultBasic Program to almost triple the number of enrollees and provide comprehensive health-care coverage to a total of about 130,000 uninsured Pennsylvanians. It is the cornerstone of Health PAct, the House Democrats' legislative package aimed at improving and expanding access to quality health care in Pennsylvania.
Currently adultBasic offers physician care, in-patient hospitalization and other health services to working people ages 19 to 64. House Bill 1 would immediately cover about 85,000 people who are now on the adultBasic waiting list, as well as expand coverage to include prescription medications, chronic disease management and preventive care.
We are offering a solution to a problem that will only keep getting worse if we don't act soon. Before we move ahead, it's important to understand how we got to this point in the first place.
True or false? In less than a decade, health insurance premiums have doubled. True or false? Lack of health insurance is the leading cause of bankruptcy in America. True or false? The cost uncompensated care is picked up by the insured through higher premiums. True, true and true.
The problem is compounded when those faced with health-related concerns need medical treatment, but don’t have health insurance and are unable to afford medical attention. Depending on the treatments, medical care potentially costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, sometimes crippling a family's savings or accumulated retirement funds.
As we continue to fight through one of the worst economic times in our nation's recent history, more and more working families are finding themselves without health insurance and in need of access to basic health care.
Like families struggling to make ends meet, we are faced with many challenges this year. But expanding access to affordable health-care coverage for the uninsured is a priority that can no longer wait.
We are urging our colleagues in the Senate to pass this legislation. We passed a bill to protect the health and welfare of the people of Pennsylvania. We're hoping the Senate will do the same, for the future of health care in the Commonwealth.
If you have questions or comments, please contact me. As always, you may stop by or call my Coraopolis office at 412-264-4260, or my Carnegie office at 412-429-5091, to talk to me or someone on my staff. I encourage all input on this issue.