On February 28th, PA's sponsored health insurance known as AdultBasic will not be funded any longer. This insurance for those that don't qualify for the state Medicaid program was started as a result of the tobacco settlement funds of many years ago. Thousands will lose their current health care coverage. There are possibly a few options, one of which is not getting much coverage(sure any coverage is better than none at all), having a much higher premium through PA Fair Care(of course if they could afford this cost, they might be able to pay for one of the private insurances), and not having anything at all.
There is already a large waiting list from over the years, there were only so many slots available and now the loss of this vital insurance coverage will be lost. The legislature, at least those I met with, have the blame game already in place - it was the former administration's fault(added more members when they knew it was going away and they did nothing to change things) and of course my thought process is that lots of administrations get stuck with former problems. The blame game when it comes to people dying should never be played, but rather solutions.
For those of you who deal with patients on a daily basis, ask one of the folks how scared they are knowing that they had coverage to get their inhalers and their respiratory meds and now that will all be gone. ER's should also see an increase in visits, where else can they go for treatment? I know that at the free clinic, we probably will see a few of our former patients coming back and that is ok, at least they have somewhere to go.
One of my good friends was so excited when they got AdultBasic because they have MS and they could finally get their meds to keep them in remission - now they are trying to figure out how they will get them and if they can't, then what, wheelchair sooner?
So, if you live in PA and want to advocate for your respiratory patients, call the governor's office and/or your state legislator. Never know who's life you might save and it could even be one of your respiratory patients. I am betting they will thank you the next time you see them.
Bette Grey, BA, RRT, CPFT
Columbia County VIM Clinic
570-204-3930