The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has unveiled a proposal to establish what it is calling a “Basic Health Program” that gives states “the option to establish a health benefits coverage program for low-income individuals who would otherwise be eligible to purchase coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace.”
The program, established in the Affordable Care Act, is designed for people who do not qualify for Medicaid or CHIP and whose incomes are between 133 percent and 200 percent of the federal poverty level.  Legal residents who are non-citizens whose incomes are below 133 percent of the federal poverty level also qualify.  The federal government is picking up 95 percent of the cost of this program.
A new proposed regulation addresses who is eligible, how enrollment works, enrollee financial responsibilities, the program’s basic benefits, and more.
Such a program could prove beneficial to many low-income residents of communities served by Pennsylvania’s safety-net hospitals.
Read about the new Basic Health Program in this CMS fact sheet, which also includes a link to the entire proposed regulation.