Real universal health care proposal in PA?

Kudos to Pennsylvania State Senator Jim Ferlo and his colleagues for having the guts to propose what looks like a real solution to the health care crisis ...

Healthy Choice
A Pennsylvania state senator proposes universal coverage for state residents.
by Jesse Smith, Philadelphia Weekly

Last month Massachusetts garnered national attention for legislation heralded as an answer to the state's-and possibly the nation's-problem of health coverage gaps. Requiring that all residents have health insurance, the state will subsidize coverage for the poor but will force others to purchase theirs through private insurers.

In Pennsylvania, legislators led by state Sen. Jim Ferlo and healthcare advocates are working on their own plan for universal coverage, one that would take private insurers out of the mix entirely.

"We needed a model bill out there for public debate," Ferlo says. "Change isn't going to happen in a vacuum. This is our plan, and now the legislature, governor and candidates can react to it."

Now in the Public Health and Welfare Committee, Senate Bill 1085-the Balanced and Comprehensive Healthcare Reform Act-proposes the establishment of a state-run healthcare trust as a means of repairing a system Ferlo describes as a "sick patient in need of radical surgery."

Funded by a 10 percent payroll tax on employers, a 3 percent individual wellness tax on personal income and federal money, the program would cover most medical services (with the exception of cosmetic procedures) and make no exclusions of preexisting conditions. Unlike most traditional insurance plans, the proposed system would cover those services without a beneficiary copay or deductible.

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