Taking it to the street
for health care

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

Andre Butler and William Farren have joined the fight for comprehensive and affordable health care in Pennsylvania.
Butler, a Chestnut Hill resident and chairman of the board of the Philadelphia Unemployment Project, works part-time for a caterer and does not have health benefits from the company. He is able to have blood tests and X-rays taken at the city’s District 10 health center, but he needs an MRI and CT scan for back and neck pain.
The state’s adultBasic plan is costly and does not include coverage for prescription medication and behavioral health.
"I just have to wing it the best I can," Butler said.
Farren, a self-employed painter from Oxford Circle, said it’s tough for him to afford insurance and pay his mortgage. He believes state legislators who have top-of-the-line, taxpayer-funded health coverage should have empathy for folks less fortunate.
"The backbone of this country is working people," he said.
Butler and Farren were among a crowd that gathered last week outside the District 10 health center, at 2230 Cottman Ave., to push for passage of Cover All Pennsylvanians, an initiative of Gov. Ed Rendell’s. Organizers chose that site to try to convince state Reps. Tom Murt (R-152nd dist.), George Kenney (R-170th dist.) and John Perzel (R-172nd dist.) to support the plan.
According to the Philadelphia Health Management’s community health database, there are 21,000 uninsured adults in the Northeast and 137,000 in Philadelphia. There are an estimated 800,000 uninsured adults throughout Pennsylvania.
"This plan that’s been drafted fills needs all across the state," said Carol Rogers, a physician’s assistant for the city Department of Health.
As the demonstration was taking place, the House Appropriations Committee was holding a hearing on the matter. Prospects for passage of the measure are uncertain in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives and its fate is more uncertain in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Backers of the plan were scheduled to take a bus trip to Harrisburg this week to rally for its passage. The House might vote on the bill this week.
Under the proposal, uninsured adults making less than $31,200 per year ($63,600 for a family of four) would pay between $10 and $60 per month for full health insurance coverage — doctors visits, tests, hospital stays, maternity care, mental health care and prescriptions. Insurance companies would have to allow families to buy coverage for their children up to age 30.
The bill does not address kids, because they are eligible for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
The plan, the major piece of Rendell’s "Prescription for Pennsylvania," will be financed by an increase in tobacco taxes and the use of surplus funds in the state’s MCare fund, which helps doctors pay their malpractice insurance. Specifically, taxes on cigarettes would increase by 10 cents per pack. The state would also begin taxing chewing tobacco and cigars. Every other state already taxes those products.
The Pennsylvania Health Access Network organized the March 4 demonstration. Organizers say health care is the No. 2 issue in the country, behind the economy.
Activists held signs that read, "Health Care for Everyone" and "Everyone Deserves Affordable Health Insurance!" They were joined by members of the Maternity Care Coalition, which seeks an increase in obstetrics care in the Northeast and elsewhere.
Lance Haver, the city’s director of consumer affairs, said providing all people with health coverage is "the right thing to do."
"Health insurance is a right for every Pennsylvanian," said the longtime activist.
Don McGrogan, director of field operations for United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776, said the bill will contain costs for the insured and small businesses that underwrite the $1.4 billion and rising in annual costs for Pennsylvania’s uninsured. It’s estimated that health premiums are 6.5 percent higher because of the cost of caring for the uninsured.
Adults with no primary care coverage get sicker and often wind up in emergency rooms, according to McGrogan.
"The cost of not passing this legislation is staggering," he said.
Rogers, the Department of Health employee, read a letter from Dr. Don Schwarz, the health commissioner. Schwarz said people without insurance receive fewer preventive services and less regular care for chronic diseases such as asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure.
"The money’s there. Show you care," Schwarz urged state lawmakers. ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com