According to a survey report published by the Pennsylvania Insurance Department, in the year 2004, 92% of Pennsylvania’s residents had some type of health insurance coverage. Statistics revealed an improvement over the year 2003 when fewer than 90% of Pennsylvanians were insured (Pennsylvania’s Health Care, 2006). Moreover, the 2005 report informs us that almost 20% of people between the ages of 18 and 34 are without health insurance in the state. This group of people, in fact, makes up 50% of the entire uninsured group of Pennsylvanians.
Besides, there are more part-time workers who are uninsured as compared to full-time workers; while the percentage of uninsured residents decreases with increasing income. In addition, 70% of the uninsured people of Pennsylvania reported that they could not afford either a government or a private health insurance plan (Pennsylvania Health Insurance, 2005). Research has revealed that for 62% of all Pennsylvanians who relied on private health insurance plans during 2004, health insurance premiums had increased over the previous three years (Pennsylvania Health Insurance).
What is more, despite a significant amount of federal funding to ensure that all Pennsylvanian children have health insurance, in the year 2006 it was found that almost 133,600 youngsters continue to live without health insurance coverage. Critics say that this is because the state’s program – known as CHIP, and available to children of high income as well as low income families – is not administered properly; and that, in fact, by doing away with the long waiting lists for getting children insured, Pennsylvania may easily help itself.
IMPROVING HEALTH INSURANCE IN PENNSYLVANIA Page # 2 invest in the health of its children in an improved manner (Olson, 2006; Pennsylvania’s Children’s Health). As far as the adults without health insurance coverage are concerned, the Pennsylvania Insurance Department says that it is committed to invest in their health as well. As a matter of fact, the state has vowed to invest the proceeds of its tobacco settlement in the health of Pennsylvania consumers.
This investment is expected to generate for the state approximately $11 billion over the course of 25 years (Facts About AdultBasic, 2003). Seeing that the majority of the uninsured of Pennsylvania belong to a group of 18 to 34 year olds who may not have thus far grown in income levels at their rudimentary stages of career, Pennsylvania must seek to contain its growing costs of health insurance in order to make health insurance affordable for all. Hence, the Insurance Department’s adultBasic program is a good opportunity for the insured to buy coverage at a relatively low cost.
This basic health insurance program costs only about $30 per month, with doctor visits, emergency rooms, and specialists costing $5, $25, and $10 respectively. In cases where a visit to the emergency room turns into an admission, adultBasic waives the cost completely, making it still easier for the low-income families of Pennsylvania to protect their health (Facts About AdultBasic). Only time and statistics of the future would reveal whether more of the uninsured Pennsylvanians would buy adultBasic.
If, however, the statistics of the future are not very different from those of the present and the past, the state would have to reduce health insurance costs even further. Besides, the Pennsylvania Insurance Department must seek to fix its administrative structure for CHIP. The Department must also check whether administrative IMPROVING HEALTH INSURANCE IN PENNSYLVANIA Page # 3 problems are reducing the benefits of adultBasic for the uninsured Pennsylvanians.
After all, the health of the Pennsylvanians is the health of the state itself. Pennsylvania must, therefore, ensure that everyone who is uninsured must not only be able to afford health insurance, but also purchase the necessary coverage without delay. IMPROVING HEALTH INSURANCE IN PENNSYLVANIA Page # 4.
References 1. Facts About AdultBasic. (2003, March 13). Insurance Department: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Retrieved from http://www.ins. state. pa. us/ins/cwp/view. asp? a=1278&q=527068&pp=12&n=1. (19 February 2007).
2. Olson, Laura. (2006, July 25). Health insurance program leaving many youngsters behind: Nearly 70,000 Pennsylvania children are eligible, but not enrolled, for fully or partially subsidized coverage, state officials say. Reading Eagle. 3. Pennsylvania Health Insurance Status Survey. (2005, May 9). Pennsylvania Insurance Department. Retrieved from http://www. ins. state. pa. us/ins/lib/ins/chip_ab/uninsured_study_web. pdf. (19 February 2007). 4.
Pennsylvania’s Children’s Health Insurance Program is expanding to be able to COVER ALL KIDS. PA Insurance Department. Retrieved from http://www. ins. state. pa. us/. (19 February 2007). IMPROVING HEALTH INSURANCE IN PENNSYLVANIA Page # 5 5. Pennsylvania’s Health Care Conundrum: The Question of Access to Services. (2006, April). Pennsylvania Economy League. Retrieved from http://www. issuespa. net/articles/16006/. (19 February 2007).