COSTA APPLAUDS ‘SMALL STEP FORWARD’ IN HEALTH COVERAGE

HARRISBURG, January 24, 2008 - - State Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) today said he was pleased that 29,000 uninsured Pennsylvanians on the adultBasic waiting list will soon receive coverage, but insisted that the legislature can do better.

“I am very pleased that 29,000 uninsured citizens of Pennsylvania now have the opportunity to receive affordable health care,” Costa said. “Yet this is only a small step forward in our goal to Cover All Pennsylvanians because there are still over 700,000 uninsured adults in our state.”

Costa has legislation, Senate Bill 1117, that would provide affordable health care for the more than 700,000 uninsured Pennsylvanians - most of whom are low-income workers. His bill, part of Governor Rendell’s Prescription for Pennsylvania, is currently under review in the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee.

“This is good news that we were able to extend adultBasic coverage, however there are still 70,000 people on the waiting list awaiting coverage,” Costa said. “The legislature needs to protect the people we serve and provide affordable health care to all Pennsylvanians.”

There are currently 50,117 Pennsylvanians enrolled in the program.

AdultBasic offers necessary benefits - including preventative care, physician services, diagnosis and treatment of illness or injury, in-patient hospitalization, outpatient hospital services, emergency accident care and medical care - to uninsured Pennsylvanians between the ages of 19 and 64. For eligibility and enrollment information, call 1-800-GO-BASIC or visit the Pennsylvania Insurance Department's Web site, www.ins.state.pa.us.

AdultBasic is funded by proceeds from the commonwealth's share of the national tobacco settlement and is augmented through General Fund allocations and through the Community Health Reinvestment Agreement negotiated by the state with Pennsylvania's four Blue Cross Blue Shield plans.

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