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Rep. Deberah Kula |
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Sunday, April 27, 2008
PA ABC: Helping working families afford health coverage
by state Rep. Deberah Kula, D-Fayette/Westmoreland
One of the most devastating events that could happen in our lives is the onset of a life-threatening disease. It could be a spouse, parent or friend who is sick and needs quality health care, but can’t afford it.
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 could potentially cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, sometimes financially crippling a family's savings or accumulated retirement funds.
House Democrats are leading the effort to address the problem. We recently passed legislation, known as Pennsylvania Access to Basic Care, that is the first important step to providing access to necessary insurance for many of Pennsylvania's uninsured.
Many Pennsylvanians work full time but their employers simply do not offer group 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.
adultBasic offers physician care, in-patient hospitalization and other health services to low-income working people ages 19 to 64. PA ABC would immediately cover the 80,000 people who are now on the adultBasic waiting list, as well as expand coverage.
PA ABC would assist small businesses, too. They sometimes struggle to provide their workers with health-care insurance. The plan would create a new initiative that allocates grants to small businesses that already offer health insurance in order to help them cope with the sky-rocketing cost of insuring their employees.
We are urging our colleagues in the Senate to pass PA ABC legislation. We were able to put aside partisan politics for the people of Pennsylvania. We're hoping the Senate can do the same, for the future of health care in the Commonwealth.
This is National Cover the Uninsured Week. Pennsylvania can take the lead.
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