Pennsylvania Residents Protest Governor’s Decision Not to Fund Health Insurance Program for Adults

More than 30 individuals attended a March 28 hearing in McKeesport, Pa., to protest Gov. Mark Schweiker's (R) decision not to use part of the state's share of the national tobacco settlement for a health insurance program for low-income adults, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports (Dyer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 3/29). Last year, Pennsylvania officials announced a proposal to use part of the state's $11 billion share of the tobacco settlement to provide basic health coverage to about 375,000 uninsured adults. The program would have covered adults ages 19 to 64 who lacked health insurance for at least 90 days prior to enrollment in the program. Individuals who qualified for the program also would have had to reside in Pennsylvania for at least 90 days before enrollment and have annual incomes at or less than 200% of the federal poverty level -- $17,180 or less for an individual, $35,300 or less for a family of four (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 8/22/01). However, Schweiker has moved to "stall" the program, a decision that has prompted criticism from advocates for the uninsured and some state lawmakers. State Sen. Sean Logan (D), who attended the hearing last week, said that uninsured adults in Pennsylvania "were promised the money" from the state's share of the tobacco settlement, "and it should be spent on health-related programs to ease their problems." The Mon Valley Unemployed Committee, an advocacy group for unemployed workers, sponsored the hearing (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 3/29).