Pa. House Democrats on Monday moved forward with a bill that would facilitate a key part of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget plan — and potentially lower healthcare costs for hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians.that would ensure the state’s health reinsurance program continues; the bill would also establish an additional insurance subsidy for low-income Pennsylvanians, if and when funding is available.
Rep. Patty Kim says the bill being considered will help 'more people get insurance, and more people get better insurance.' April 23, 2024. Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com“Many Pennsylvanians technically have coverage through Pennie, but that coverage has a deductible in the thousands of dollars, meaning that person basically can’t use their insurance,” said Rep. Patty Kim, D-Dauphin County, the bill’s sponsor and the chair of the insurance committee.
This reinsurance mechanism in Pennie is currently funded by a 3% user fee and would continue under Kim’s bill, which requires the state insurance commission to re-apply for a federal reinsurance waiver. “I don’t think it’s appropriate to go back home and talk about unrealistic expectations” with constituents given that the bill has no concrete funding mechanism, said Rep. Tina Pickett, R-Bradford County, the ranking Republican on the committee.