Pennsylvania is having a hard time making the numbers work at a subsidized health insurance program for the previously uninsured.
The Pennsylvania Insurance Department provides subsidized coverage for about 40,000 residents through the adultBasic program, and about 369,000 low-income adult residents are on the program waiting list.
Residents on the waiting list can buy program coverage by paying an unsubsidized monthly premium.
The monthly premium for the 40,000 residents who are getting subsidized coverage will increase to $36, from $35, March 1, officials say.
The monthly premium for the 3,500 residents who are buying into the program on their own will increase to $600, from $330.
The program now will pay for only 2 inpatient hospital stays per year, and it will limit coverage for physical, occupational and speech therapy services to just 15 treatments per year.
"People who come to adultBasic have been without coverage and so are generally in need of costly care," Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario says in a statement about the program rate increases.
Pennsylvania has about 878,000 adult residents ages 18 to 64 who are uninsured, and about 40% of those are eligible for the adultBasic program, officials estimate.
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