Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Adult Basic Sings the Blues! Wilkes- Barre

Save Health Insurance for 46,000 Pennsylvanians! Meet up outside Blue Cross of Northeast PA, 19 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre 18711, tomorrow at noon, to stand up and tell the PA "Blues" to fulfill their obligation to the public! The PA Blues now have a $6.5 Billion surplus stashed away, and yet they are refusing to continue funding the Adult Basic program! This program provides affordable health insurance now for 42,957 Pennsylvanians, and a shocking total of 397,671 are on the waiting list. These folks, mostly working people who don't make enough to afford insurance, will be able to get federal health insurance in 2014, but in the meantime they may be left without any coverage if this program isn't renewed.

We'll be releasing a new report by the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center at this event and have a chance to hear from people who are at risk of losing the only insurance they can get.

CV: When the legislative session started in 2009, House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-116, Hazleton, introduced House Bill 1 as the vehicle to expand the AdultBasic health care program to include an additional 85,000 jobless Pennsylvanians between 19 and 64. The measure passed the House last year, but last summer's budget stalemate prevented further action.

Now program supporters have lowered their sights. Mr. Eachus is concerned the 50,000 individuals currently enrolled in AdultBasic will lose benefits when a state law requiring financial support from the Blue Cross insurers expires. He is seeking bridge funding until the new federal health care law takes effect.

"Now we are just striving to keep the current program whole," said Eachus spokesman Brett Marcy
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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Obamacare will cure it all

Anonymous said...

What federal health insurance in 2014? These same people still won't be able to afford their mandated health insurance and will be fined or jailed.

aliduncan said...

Health care WILL be much more affordable after 2014, and there's NO possibility of going to jail if you don't buy it. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provides considerable subsidies, according to income, so that people will be able to purchase insurance on their own through the Exchanges.If they don't want to participate, if they want to take that risk of being uninsured, the fines are small and jail is NOT a possible punishment - the law as passed says "In the case of any failure by a taxpayer to timely pay any penalty imposed by this section, such taxpayer shall not be subject to any criminal prosecution or penalty with respect to such failure."