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BCBS of PA funds coverage for low-income residents

Patient Financial Services Weekly Advisor, February 22, 2005

Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans in Pennsylvania agreed to give $150 million a year toward healthcare programs for low-income residents and other Pennsylvanians, the Associated Press (AP) reported February 7.

The funding includes $85 million a year to enroll another 29,000 people in adultBasic, the state's low-cost health insurance program for the poor, according to Governor Ed Rendell.

The state now insures about 39,000 low-income individuals through adultBasic, which costs $32 a month, but more than 100,000 people are on the fast-growing waiting list, AP reported. Children are insured through a separate program.

The four not-for-profit health insurers have also agreed to contribute $65 million a year toward community health centers and other programs, for a total six-year commitment of nearly $1 billion, Rendell said.

The Blue Cross/Blue Shield companies-which have tax-exempt status on the nonprofit segments of their businesses-have been criticized by state lawmakers for holding billions of dollars in cash reserves and surpluses.

The state insurance department is expected to rule soon on whether those surpluses are excessive, but Rendell said the February 7 agreement was unrelated to that issue.

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