Uninsured Pennsylvanians with an income less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level have begun enrolling in health insurance plans under the state’s Healthy Pennsylvania Medicaid expansion.
The official date on which enrollment began is December 1 in anticipation of the program’s official implementation on January 1.  During this period, an estimated 600,000 eligible Pennsylvanians may choose private insurers through which they can receive health care coverage, with their premiums to be paid with federal Medicaid funds.
While the program is expected to begin as scheduled on January 1, it is not clear how long it will last in its current form.  Governor-elect Tom Wolf has expressed opposition to the approach taken by the Corbett administration through Healthy Pennsylvania and envisions a more traditional expansion of the state’s Medicaid program.  Whether Mr. Wolf will pursue such an approach, and when he might do so, remains unknown.
For a closer look at the Healthy Pennsylvania launch and the immediate future of Medicaid expansion in Pennsylvania, see this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article.