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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Tim Seip |
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Seip, Goodman: House passes Pa. Access to Basic Care health plan
Bill would help 1,070 in Schuylkill, 3,142 in Berks who are on waiting list for coverage
HARRISBURG, March 17 – State Reps. Tim Seip, D-Schuylkill/Berks, and Neal Goodman, D-Schuylkill, today voted for legislation that would offer affordable health insurance to the 4,200 working adults in Schuylkill and Berks counties currently stuck on a waiting list for the state's adultBasic program, and eventually to more than 270,000 working adults statewide who are uninsured.
The House today passed a proposal, called Pennsylvania Access to Basic Care, that would provide access to health coverage for uninsured adults who are not eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. It would also help small businesses provide health benefits to their employees.
Seip said, "This is one of my top priorities for the year, along with energy independence and property tax reform. The House passed a major energy-independence bill last week, and I am pleased the House has now passed a bill that would help thousands of working people in Schuylkill and Berks counties who have fallen through the cracks of our health-care system.
"As a licensed health-care professional, I have met many working adults who cannot afford or cannot access private health insurance," said Seip, a longtime social worker who serves as secretary of the House Health and Human Services Committee. "This coverage would also go far in reducing inappropriate usage of emergency rooms by the uninsured, who usually lack alternatives, and would help to rein in health-care costs for everyone. Under this bill, many more patients would be covered and able to access more appropriate and efficient care at a lower cost to the health-care system."
Goodman said, "This legislation would build on our commitment to health care, demonstrated by our recent actions to continue access to affordable health care by providing emergency funding to the Schuylkill Alliance for Health Care Access."
Seip and Goodman recently secured state funding to keep the alliance operating. The organization provides care to uninsured residents of Schuylkill County.
PA ABC would take over coverage for current adultBasic enrollees and expand coverage to those on the waiting list, which includes 1,070 people in Schuylkill County and 3,142 people in Berks County. PA ABC would also improve coverage to include prescription drugs, behavioral health services, preventive care and chronic disease management.
The coverage would be available at no cost up to a monthly premium of $50 for uninsured adults earning up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $42,400 for a family of four. Uninsured adults earning between 200 percent and 300 percent of the poverty level could access PA ABC for about $311 a month.
"Pennsylvania Access to Basic Care would also help small employers – it would allow them to provide coverage to their workers through ABC, or, if they already provide coverage comparable to ABC, it would provide state grants to help them continue to cover their workers," Goodman said.
Seip and Goodman are urging quick consideration in the Senate.
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