Gov. Corbett Announces Healthy Pennsylvania Plan

Gov. Tom Corbett has announced his plan to accept federal funding to launch Healthy Pennsylvania, a program that will promote affordable care and increase access to care for the uninsured.

If the federal government approves the program, the state will move forward with extending health insurance coverage to about 520,000 additional low-income, currently uninsured residents earning up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, according to Gov. Corbett's plan.

Although similar to the Medicaid expansion option included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pennsylvania's initiative will offer people coverage through the private insurance market. Using the private market will involve less bureaucracy, more provider options and less risk for state programs if the federal government doesn't deliver the promised funding, according to Gov. Corbett's office.

In Pennsylvania, Democratic lawmakers, hospital officials, the AARP and labor unions have pushed for Medicaid expansion. However, Republicans have said an expansion would be fiscally unsustainable for state taxpayers, according to the report. Although the state Senate approved Medicaid expansion legislation this summer, legislators in the House voted it down.

In addition to extending coverage to low-income, uninsured residents, the Healthy Pennsylvania plan involves various other initiatives such as eliminating the mandatory six-month waiting period for the Children's Health Insurance Program, increasing access to primary healthcare through new clinics and promoting health information technology use. Gov. Corbett also aims to develop a more effective and coordinated long-term care and support system for the elderly and disabled, promote public health, ensure safe access to prescription medication and continue to reform the state's medical liability system to reduce the burden of defensive medicine and malpractice costs.

Gov. Corbett's plan also outlines various reform provisions to reduce the cost of the state Medicaid program, which costs taxpayers and the federal government about $19 billion annually. The changes include aligning Medicaid benefits with commercial insurance plans, more cost-sharing for adult beneficiaries and job training for all working-age adult enrollees.

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