Freshly-elected Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf isn’t falling for the alternative form of Medicaid expansion his GOP predecessor wanted.
Instead, the Democratic governor proposed Monday to expand his state’s Medicaid program the traditional way, extending the government insurance program to people earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level — an option for states offered by Obamacare.
That means ditching an alternative plan that had been pushed by former Gov. Tom Corbett, the Republican whom Wolf ousted in November. Wolf halted that plan on Monday in a letter to the Obama administration, saying it would have been confusing and would have resulted in people not receiving the medical treatments they need.
That plan, dubbed Healthy PA, would have used federal funds to pay for private health insurance coverage for up to 600,000 residents. Enrollment in the program started in December.
“Our approach will alleviate confusion, remove unnecessary red tape, and streamline the system so that people can see a doctor when they are sick and health care professionals have more time to concentrate on providing quality care,” Wolf said in a statement.
But Corbett, who said his plan would help reform the state’s Medicaid program, had gained approval from the Obama administration last August to go ahead with it. As Wolf tries to reroute the state towards traditional Medicaid expansion, he’s likely to face pushback from the Republican-led General Assembly
Twenty-eight states including Pennsylvania are expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, but some are doing it in different ways that have been approved by the federal government. Last Wednesday, Tennessee lawmakers rejected a proposal that would have made it the latest state to pursue an alternative route.
