PA House passes health reform bills

Two important bills - one to expand subsidized health insurance, the other to protect small businesses against premium spikes - cleared the Pennsylvania House June 29. Both face an uphill struggle in the Senate, which has shown little interest to date in expanding insurance coverage or regulating insurance companies.

House Bill 1, sponsored by House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, would permit another 85,000 low-income adults buy subsidized health insurance at a monthly premium of $40-$50.  Currently only 45,000 are enrolled in adultBasic and another 235,000 eligible individuals are on the wait list.

Eachus made the following statement about HB 1:  "Over the last several years, we have been working to improve and reform the health-care system in Pennsylvania and I think we have a proposal now that can accomplish our goal of covering more working adults while reducing the costs of care in the long term. Plus, we will be drawing down significant federal funding that will make up 54 percent of the cost of this plan. It would be foolish for Pennsylvania to leave those federal dollars on the table, especially at a time when more and more adults are left without coverage."   

House Bill 476, sponsored by Rep. Tony DeLuca, would end the practice by which insurance companies price coverage for an employee group based on the risks in that group.  Instead, risks would be shared among all small business groups within a geographical area, thereby reducing the impact of claims on any one employee group.  Rates could not increase more than 10 percent a year, medical underwriting would be prohibited, and employee wellness plans rewarded with lower rates.

Said DeLuca, "Pennsylvania is one of only two states that have not addressed health insurance rate reforms for small businesses.  My legislation would allow small-business owners to provide affordable health-care coverage to their employees."

Lobbyists for health insurance companies oppose both bills. 

According to Erik Arneson, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, the Majority Leader has no immediate plans to consider either bill.  Pileggi is quoted in the July 1st edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer:  "Common sense says to wait and see what the federal government finally lands on in their health-care policy before we enact a major expansion of one program and create a new entitlement program in Pennsylvania. I don't know that a state government facing a $3.2 billion budget-revenue shortfall should be trying to fill the gap ahead of the federal government."

However, an analysis by the PA Health Access Network shows that 82 percent of the cost of enlarging adultBasic would be paid by federal funds.  The cost of the premium subsidy to Pennsylvania for the additional 85,000 insured individuals would be only $512 per individual per year.  A significant portion of that would be saved by reducing the amount of uncompensated care doctors and hospitals provide when Pennsylvanians receive expensive medical treatment but have no way to pay for it. 

Supporters of the House-passed bills are encouraged to contact their state senators to request support for these reforms.