More than half a million Pennsylvanians who registered for Affordable Care Act have been without health insurance since January 1st. State legislators say the men and women would be covered if Governor Tom Corbett’s alternative plan was finalized in a timely manner.
Keen Hicks, 47, is uninsured.
She says, “I’m a hard worker, I pay my taxes, I feel as though we shouldn’t be shut out.”
Hicks, of Philadelphia, registered online for Affordable Care Act in December. But Governor Corbett’s proposed an alternative plan that isn’t part of the federal insurance. It’s called Healthy Pennsylvania. It’s not finalized and 600,000 plus people in PA aren’t covered.
Hicks says, “I go to the doctors, you have to pay a co-pay, that scale is $45, then if I need prescriptions and pay for that, so I would have to decide which of my household bills I won’t pay.”
Republican State Representative Gene DiGirolamo, of District 18, says, “When I look at these people, they’re our most vulnerable citizens. Any changes to their benefits would not be a good thing.”
Representative DiGirolamo chairs the House Human Services Committee. On Monday, he listened to a dozen people from around the State testify their concerns at the Capitol Building.
He says, “I would have had this population on Medicaid expansion the first of January 2014 and then if you want to negotiate with the federal government with another plan you could do that.”
For Hicks and her adopted son, insurance means a healthy future together.
The Corbett administration says the State is currently in formal negotiations with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services to finalize the Healthy PA plan and increase access to quality, affordable healthcare.