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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State Rep. Jesse White
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White, others testify at local hearing on
health-insurance plan for working families
HOUSTON, Pa., Sept. 4 – State Rep. Jesse White, D-Washington/Allegheny/Beaver, and members of the House Majority Policy Committee held a public hearing today on a plan to extend health insurance to hundreds of thousands of uninsured adults in Pennsylvania.
The hearing focused on a proposal known as Pennsylvania Access to Basic Care, or PA ABC, that was drafted by House Democrats and passed by the House of Representatives earlier this year. The Senate has not yet acted on it.
White, who hosted today's meeting, said PA ABC would extend affordable health-insurance coverage through the private insurance market to more than 270,000 uninsured adults in Pennsylvania, many of whom are working but cannot get coverage through their employer or cannot access coverage because of a pre-existing condition. This would include immediate coverage for 80,000 Pennsylvania adults who are on the waiting list for the state’s current subsidized insurance program, adultBasic. White said Washington County has more than 12,000 uninsured adults and children. Beaver County has more than 19,000, and Allegheny County has more than 115,000 uninsured residents.
"Paying for health care is a huge burden on Pennsylvania families," White said. "This plan would make sure they are able to receive a high standard of care that doesn't put them in the poorhouse. Providing comprehensive, affordable insurance would have an immediate, positive impact on the quality of life for Commonwealth residents.
"The cost of treating patients without insurance is usually passed on to insured people through higher premiums. Access to adequate insurance would reduce people's reliance on emergency rooms for basic care and lower health-care costs for everyone," he said.
State Rep. Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne, chairman of the House Majority Policy Committee, said holding public hearings across the state is vital to obtaining information and feedback from citizens, as well as highlighting the need for the Senate to take action on the PA ABC proposal.
"The most gripping testimony came from two Washington County residents who told us what it was really like to get up and go to work in the morning and know that you can’t afford to get sick," Eachus said.
One resident, a retired steel worker, said he sacrificed many pay increases for 30 years in order to receive quality health-care benefits that he thought would last into his retirement.
"Because of the bankruptcy of the steel company he worked for, he is now struggling to find affordable coverage, working part-time to make ends meet," Eachus said. "The story is similar across Pennsylvania for so many working adults."
Other components of the PA ABC plan would make $42 million in state grants available to small businesses that already provide coverage to their employees, and assist doctors by continuing to help them pay their medical malpractice insurance premiums for another 10 years.
Testifying at the hearing were state Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario; Mon Valley Unemployment Committee Co-Coordinator Paul Lodico; Cathy Stoddart, RN, BSN, Allegheny General Hospital, SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania; Consumer Health Coalition Executive Director Jessica Seabury; Ted Zimmer, community organizer, Consumer Health Coalition; and Michele Vacca and Paul Allen, White's constituents.
More information about PA ABC is available online at www.pahouse.com/White.
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