Blues insurers will extend low-cost plans in Pa.
Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) Pennsylvania’s four Blues insurers will extend the life of their cut-rate, bare-bones insurance policies for low-income people after planning to end them Dec. 31 because they don’t meet the requirements of the 2010 federal health care law.
The announcement on the Special Care programs Tuesday came from Pennsylvania’s insurance commissioner. It comes nearly two weeks after President Barack Obama asked states to allow insurers to reverse policy cancellations stemming from the law.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many people the change would affect.
Pittsburgh-based Highmark says it’ll extend its program until July 1 for about 19,400 people in its Special Care program. However, the state Department of Insurance has estimated that 250,000 Pennsylvanians, including people in individual, small-group and large-group policies, were seeing their coverage discontinued because of the law.