With adultBasic set to expire, where's the outrage?
With funding streams drying up and everyone looking toward the impact of national health care reform, adultBasic is set to expire at the end of 2010 and it almost seems as if no one is paying attention.
Since 2002, Pennsylvania has run a state-subsidized health insurance program called adultBasic. The program allows uninsured adults ages 19-65 that meet certain criteria to apply for a low cost health insurance option enabling them to receive basic health care. The program is not perfect and the coverage it provides is not fully comprehensive, but since its formation, adultBasic has helped thousands of Pennsylvanians access the health care system and get some of the care that they need.
The main requirements for this program are that these individuals have an income, are not eligible for Medicaid, and are uninsured. People must then take it upon themselves to fill out the application and join the wait list that has formed until they receive the state subsidy. The fact that the 45,927 people now enrolled have met the eligibility guidelines and gone through the application process is surprising in and of itself.
What is even more troubling than the number of people on the program is the wait list that has developed as a result of increased demand and insufficient funding. As of June 2010 there were 397,671 Pennsylvanians on this waitlist. That number is staggering. That means that for every person actually enrolled in the program there are nearly 10 people waiting to get on themselves. Also, to put this in perspective, when I began my job at Consumer Health Coalition just over two years ago in June of 2008 the waitlist was just over 96,000.
The passing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was a monumental achievement and an important step towards making sure Americans will have the access to the health services that they deserve. With that said, adultBasic and other similar programs should be a bridge until the other components of health care reform are put into place. We should not pull the rug out from underneath the thousands of working Pennsylvanians relying on the program, leaving them with the possibility of waiting years until other options are in place. Our legislators should find a solution to make sure adultBasic survives this year and into the near future until other reforms are up and running.
Click the link below to download a PDF of adultBasic enrollment numbers over the last two years.
Comments
I and my husband have been on
I and my husband have been on Adult Basic for the past 4 years and after being uninsured for 6 years and on the waiting list for almost 3 years, we were grateful to be able to be accepted into the program.
I honestly do not think that most people are aware that the program is in jepardy and that is why people are not responding to this issue. Unless you have been reading and researching on the subject, most people have no idea what has been going on. Blue Cross is not going out of it's way to warn anybody about the program ending. This year they raised the premium in March to $600.00 per month for those who chose to buy into the program while waiting on the list. Imagine the shock those people would experience if they have the program end at the end of this year, after they have paid such expensive premiums in vain, waiting and hoping to get on. Morally, this is not acceptable. I hope our legislators are able to find a solution and I appreciate their efforts to save this much need program that so many rely on. There is a conference call on July 19th concerning Adult Basic that I am planning on attending. Hopefully there will be some sort of optimistic news because this program protects patients and their access to health care, for their quality of life and peace of mind, that we would never be able to afford otherwise. I will continue to follow this issue because it is so important to our family as well as the 45,000 plus others who have it and the 397,000 plus others who hope to obtain some form of affordable health coverage for their families security and well being.
Sincerly yours, Ann Marie
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