February 3rd, 2010

Reports the Bucks County Courier Times:

Premiums will double for people on the waiting list to buy the adultBasic state health insurance.

Pennsylvania’s poorest residents who buy state health coverage while waiting to enter a subsidized insurance program will see their premiums double next month – and more than 40,000 other participants face new higher out-of-pocket costs.

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department, which runs the adultBasic program, last increased premiums for participants by $1.50 a month two years ago, but the benefits package changes are a first.

The agency cited higher medical service use and escalating health care costs, combined with limited state funding as the reason for the coverage changes.

“If we didn’t adjust the adultBasic premium and benefit package, a portion of individuals enrolled in the program would have lost coverage,” Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario said. “People who come to adultBasic have been without coverage and so are generally in need of costly care.”

A record-high 369,112 Pennsylvanians are on the waiting list for adultBasic coverage, more than triple the number who were on the list in January 2008. The number of people who buy the state coverage while on the waiting list also has grown, from 2,157 to 3,529 between January 2008 and January 2010.

The changes most significantly affect those who buy the state coverage, which costs an average of $330 a month. As of March 1, that cost jumps to $600 – the largest increase in program history. People already in the program will see their monthly premiums increase by $1, to $36.

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