PA's AdultBasic health plan runs out of funds, shuts down

Tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians woke up without health coverage Tuesday morning, as the state's subsidized insurance program for working people ran out of money and moves to save it failed to gain traction. "The fiscal reality is there is no money in the budget," said Kevin Harley, a spokesman for Gov. Corbett, who is confronting a $4 billion deficit. AdultBasic, as the state program is known, ended with about 40,764 subscribers -- and a waiting list that has mushroomed during the economic downturn and totaled 505,624 in February. While coverage was basic, the premiums were an unusually low $36 a month. The most likely alternatives for most subscribers, and the one suggested by the Corbett administration, are the unrelated low-income Special Care policies that are offered by the state's four Blue Cross Blue Shield plans. Insurance for a single adult costs about $148 a month, and is more basic than adultBasic - with a limit of four doctor visits a year, for example.