South Carolina Collaborative Announces Plan To Cover 160,000 Uninsured Residents
The Covering Carolina Collaborative last week unveiled a $230 million plan to cover 160,000 of the state's approximately 700,000 uninsured residents, the Charleston Post and Courier reports. The collaborative's plan would:
- Extend Medicaid coverage to parents whose income is below 100% of the federal poverty level and to children in families whose income is between 200% and 250% of the poverty level;
- Provide tax credits to individuals and small businesses to help people with incomes between 100% and 250% of the poverty level purchase coverage; and
- Create a high-risk pool for low-income residents who have pre-existing medical conditions and cannot obtain other coverage.
State Rep. Chip Limehouse (R), a member of the state House Ways and Means Committee, said, "I'm not wholly confident there's support for a greater (tax) increase," adding that the state instead should use cigarette tax revenue to fund Medicaid, which receives a federal match of $3 to $1, and nursing programs. Lynn Bailey, a health care consultant who is affiliated with South Carolinians for Universal Health Care, said the plan overlooks the middle class and would cover a small portion of the state's uninsured residents. She said, "We can't leave 600,000 in South Carolina without insurance and ever think we can control health care costs."
The collaborative includes the South Carolina Hospital Association, South Carolina Medical Association, South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and South Carolina Alliance of Health Plans (Coley, Charleston Post and Courier, 1/25). This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
