Healthy Pennsylvania Plan Announced by Governor Tom Corbett

This week Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett unveiled a Healthy Pennsylvania plan that will offer low cost health insurance to more state residents. The proposed plan will use private health plans and will reform parts of the state's existing Medicaid program.. The plan requires Medicaid enrollees to pay monthly premiums and demonstrate they are looking for a job. The job search requirement may be a roadblock to the federal government's acceptance of Gov. Corbett's proposed plan.

Other key parts of the plan include:

• CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) Reauthorize the program in the legislature, expand current enrollment and outreach efforts, eliminate the six-month mandatory waiting period.
• Older Pennsylvanians Expand access to home and community-based care. Create a Long-Term Care Commission to recommend best practices to improve coordination of care for those needing long-term care services and support.
• Medicaid Align benefits with private, commercial insurance and federal standards for essential health benefits, mental health parity and preventive care. Institute a monthly premium on a sliding scale up to $25 and eliminate copayments. Require all unemployed working-age beneficiaries search for work, with limited exceptions.

There are other components to the plan for enhancing access to primary care by expanding community-based, primary care health clinics throughout the states and continuing to offer loan forgiveness to primary care providers who practice in rural and underserved areas of the state.

The Healthy Pennsylvania plan is available here.