adultBasic is Running Out of Money

Nearly 43,000 adults in Pennsylvania may be losing their health insurance early next year when adultBasic, an affordable health care option for adults who have recently lost health coverage and meet certain income guidelines, runs out of money.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, adultBasic will run out of funding by early next year. The reason for the lack of funding is that adultBasic was underfunded by $54 million in the 2010-11 Fiscal Year. The program was scheduled to end by the end of 2010, however, the insurance companies that fund part of the program agreed to extend it until July of 2011.

The problem lies in that the insurance contributions are not enough to sustain adultBasic beyond early 2011, meaning that thousands of working Pennsylvanians are at risk of losing their health coverage early next year, soon after Governor Corbett goes into office. Termination notices may go out as early as December.

Please tell your legislators how important this healthcare program is to Pennsylvania! In addition to the 43,000 people using the program, over 434,000 are on the waiting list for coverage. adultBasic bridges an important healthcare gap until health care reform goes into effect in 2014. Please take a moment to write to your legislators right now!