Gov. Rendell Joins Uninsured Consumers, Community Leaders, Legislators to Push for...

Gov. Rendell Joins Uninsured Consumers, Community Leaders, Legislators to Push
for Passage of Health Care for All Pennsylvanians

HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Joined by citizens facing
the stark reality of living without health insurance, Governor Edward G.
Rendell today urged the General Assembly to provide needed access to health
care coverage for 767,000 uninsured adults by enacting his "Cover All
Pennsylvanians" proposal.

The Governor said approval of the proposal can be done while still helping
physicians, especially high-risk specialists, to pay for their medical
malpractice insurance. Governor Rendell proposes to accomplish both by using
surpluses in the Health Care Provider Retention Account, which helps to
support the Mcare abatement program.

"No one thinks they will be uninsured -- just ask the people who have traveled
from across Pennsylvania to join us today," Governor Rendell said during a
news conference in the Capitol Rotunda. "These folks know the reality -- the
reality that many Pennsylvanians will become uninsured for a variety of
reasons ranging from loss of job due to illness or layoffs, loss of
employer-sponsored health insurance, divorce or simply not being able to
afford the rising premiums.

"We can provide affordable health care coverage for the thousands of
hard-working people who lack regular access to comprehensive health care by
using available surpluses and combining them with other CAP funding sources I
have previously proposed," said Governor Rendell. "Best of all, we can do this
while continuing to provide state-funded abatements that help physicians,
especially specialists, and midwives afford their medical malpractice
premiums, which keeps health care providers practicing in Pennsylvania so
people can continue to have access to health care."

Because of the improvement in the medical malpractice climate in Pennsylvania,
Mcare claims filings and annual payouts have decreased dramatically over the
past five years, thereby creating reserves in the Health Care Provider
Retention Account, which are not needed to support the Mcare abatement. The
account currently has a $400 million balance.

In December, Governor Rendell proposed a new funding option for the Cover All
Pennsylvanians health insurance initiative, which would replace the originally
proposed fair share assessment.

The Governor has called for an increase in the cigarette tax by 10-cents and
Pennsylvania's first ever tax on smokeless tobacco to ensure that the CAP
program and the Mcare abatement could be fully supported in addition to using
the surplus in the Health Care Provider Retention Account.

"This is a sustainable plan. Even with very conservative assumptions, there is
enough money to fund health coverage and provide doctors with the help they
need to pay their malpractice premiums for at least a decade," the Governor
said.

Joining the Governor in support of the proposed plan were dozens of
legislators, including state Sen. Vince Hughes (D-Philadelphia) and Rep. Mike
Sturla (D-Lancaster), who spoke in support of the Governor's Prescription for
Pennsylvania health care reform plan and CAP. In addition, uninsured people
who support the providing access to health care for all Pennsylvanians stood
with the Governor at the event.

Diana Ames, from Erie, spoke at today's news conference. Ames' husband Ron
worked for GAF, an Erie shingle manufacturer that was forced to downsize after
the price of crude oil began to skyrocket. When Ron was laid off at the end of
March, he and Diana lost their health coverage. Diana works full time as the
director of the PA Coalition to End Homelessness.

Lisa Sportelli-Wright, of Allentown, said at the news conference that as the
mother of a son with autism, she is keenly aware of the cost of health care.
As a result of divorce, Lisa will no longer be covered by health insurance.
Her son will continue to be covered but she is worried about getting sick and
continues to worry about covering the costs for her son that insurance
companies refuse to cover.

There are nearly 800,000 uninsured adults in Pennsylvania; the overwhelming
majority of whom work. Most of them want health insurance but cannot afford
it. Because of a lack of coverage, the uninsured lack access to affordable
basic care, meaning they often end up forgoing preventative care.

Independent research has shown that the uninsured have a higher mortality
rate, lower life expectancy and are more likely to miss work for illness. When
a situation is bad enough, they end up receiving care in emergency rooms, the
most expensive of health care settings.

The cost of paying for care for the uninsured is $1.4 billion a year. About
$400 million of that cost is directly paid by the state to hospitals to cover
uncompensated care for the uninsured. The rest is paid by the businesses and
individuals who do purchase health insurance coverage, as about 6.5 percent of
every premium dollar paid goes to cover the cost of the uninsured.

The abatement program was created by the Governor to provide eligible doctors,
midwives, podiatrists and nursing homes financial relief from the Mcare
assessment for a specific policy year when the program is in effect. (Act 44
of 2003 initially "abated" doctors and midwives. Podiatrists were added in
2004 and nursing homes in 2006). The 2003 law provided the abatement for 2003
and 2004. Each year since then, the abatement has been extended by the General
Assembly for a one-year time period.

In 2007, Mcare payouts were half of what they were in 2003, and two of the
largest malpractice insurance providers in Pennsylvania recently applied to
the Insurance Commissioner to lower their rates by 16 percent and 11 percent
after two previous years of keeping rates flat.

The Rendell administration is committed to creating a first-rate public
education system, protecting our most vulnerable citizens and continuing
economic investment to support our communities and businesses.To find out more
about Governor Rendell's initiatives and to sign up for his weekly newsletter,
visit http://www.governor.state.pa.us.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is information about Pennsylvania's uninsured:

"Who are the uninsured in Pennsylvania?"(1)

-- 767,000 uninsured adults in Pennsylvania

-- 71% of uninsured adults are employed

-- 44% of the employed uninsured are employed full time

-- 75% of the employed uninsured work for private companies

-- 62% of the employed uninsured work in the service industry

-- 21% of the employed uninsured work in the retail industry

-- 27% of the uninsured in Pennsylvania have been without health care coverage
for more than 5 years

-- 49% of the adult uninsured are between 18-34 years of age

-- 76% of the adult uninsured have incomes below 300% of the federal poverty
level, which is $60,000 for a family of four.(2)

-- 70% of the adult uninsured listed cost as a reason for not having insurance

-- In 2005, the cost of health care for uninsured Pennsylvanians, which was
not paid by the uninsured themselves, was more than $1.4 billion.(3)

-- The uninsured come from every region of Pennsylvania, with Tioga County
having 35.6% of its adult population uninsured to Butler at County with 3.4%
of adults uninsured.(4)

(1) Unless otherwise noted all information is from:
Pennsylvania Department of Insurance, The Health Insurance Status of
Pennsylvanians, Statewide Survey Results,
http://www.chipcoverspakids.com/upload/Chip_Resources/Research_Results/executive_summary2.pdf

(2) Federal Poverty Level Guidelines, 2006,
http://www.atdn.org/access/poverty.html

(3) Families USA, Paying a Premium: The Added Cost of Care for the Uninsured,
at page 3,
http://www.familiesusa.org/resources/publications/reports/paying-a-premium.html

(4) Prescription for Pennsylvania, from Resources Web site:
http://www.rxforpa.com/assets/pdfs/allcountieswranks.pdf

CONTACT:
Chuck Ardo
717-783-1116

Amy Kelchner (GOHCR)
717-346-8379

SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of the Governor

Chuck Ardo, +1-717-783-1116, or Amy Kelchner (GOHCR), +1-717-346-8379, both of
the Pennsylvania Office of the Governor