PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE: Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration is preparing to provide private insurance for Medicaid-eligible residents even before the state has a deal with the federal government for money to extend coverage to a half-million more Pennsylvanians.
Pennsylvania is among 24 states that opted out of the federally subsidized Medicaid expansion that began on Jan. 1 under the Affordable Care Act.
The Corbett administration has been seeking approval from the Department of Health and Human Services to tap federal money so adults earning up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level ($31,721 a year for a household of four in 2014) can purchase private commercial health care coverage.
A similar program operates in Arkansas, where the government approved a waiver. A Corbett spokeswoman said officials are optimistic they can begin offering Healthy Pennsylvania coverage to 500,000 to 600,000 eligible state residents by Jan. 1… (more)
