Sir:
I was very proud of my daughter, an intelligent young woman about to turn twenty-five (age at which she is no longer covered by my family insurance policy), when she moved to Philadelphia and responsibly made plans ahead of time to cover herself with an innovative insurance plan -- PhilaHealthia -- which was to fill the gap for people working outside of the mainstream coporate world -- graduate students, artists, non-governmental organization workers, campaign workers, self-employed artisans.
Ever since college in Montreal, Canada, she had kept her eye on people-friendly insurance initiatives. Consequently, she was thrilled, but not surprised, to learn that the Ithaca Health Alliance, founded in 1997 in New York, was to be replicated in Philadelphia, city of brotherly love, quaker roots, and cutting-edge thinking.
Now she has learned, to her profound disappointment, that the Pennsylvania Insurance Department not only has failed to endorse the program, but has ordered it to cease, offering no equivalent stop-gap to the current failed system.
It is our deep hope and expectation that Pennsylvania will fight lethargy and bureaucracy by at least piloting alternative trial programs like the PhilaHealthia (which have, after all, succeeded elsewhere), in order to figure out how to give the people of the State the health care and insurance coverage that they deserve.
Sincerely and expectantly,
Myrina McCullough
Philadelphia, PA
To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing in support of the recently proposed Philahealthia Program and requesting that The Pennsylvania Insurance Department remove the cease and desist orders imposed on this grassroots program.
As a solo-preneur who resides in the Commonwealth, the issue of finding affordable AND adequate personal health coverage is daunting. It is a sad irony that so many people are forced to add unnecessary stress to their lives because they can't afford adequate health care coverage. Any health care practitioner will tell you that stress is a main ingredient to many health issues and disease. Therefore, the ordeal finding adequate and affordable health insurance while trying to balance and maintain a healthy lifestyle becomes a Catch 22 situation.
According to the Vision and Mission statement for the PA Insurance Department, the department exists to promote and educate consumers about the competitive health insurance marketplace. The department is also charged with regulating insurance products to protect consumers as well as improve services and innovate to meet the changing financial services marketplace.
With this in mind and as a Commonwealth resident and taxpayer, I ask that the PA Insurance Department provide the necessary service and information to the Philahealthia program and help this innovative public service meet whatever basic regulatory standards are necessary to function in Pennsylvania.
Please stop adding to the frustration and stress with which so many state residents struggle. The old ways obviously aren't working. Please re-read your own vision and mission statement. Especially the line that declares "Innovate to meet the changing financial services marketplace."
As a Life Coach I work with people who want to implement positive changes and improvements in their life. I know change is not easy and that it's usually much more appealing to stay in a comfort zone. Lasting positive change can only happen when there is a strong commitment to explore and implement new ideas. If the PA Insurance Department is truly committed to serving the people, please rescind the "cease and desist" ban placed on Philahealthia and explore what IS possible to support this fledgling program.
Sincerely,
Andrea Kocerha
Bucks County PA resident
To Whom it May Concern,
I am a young adult student living in Philadelphia and I will soon be aged out of my family's insurance. As such I have been looking into the different forms of insurance available to me and have discovered how difficult and costly it is to maintain good health in this country. I heard several months ago that the there were people trying to duplicate Ithaca's Health Alliance's methods here in Philadelphia and have been waiting anxiously ever since to sign up. I do not have a lot of discretionary income and I know that it will take time for the program to become fully functional. But I believe that $100 a year, while it is a significant amount for me, is still a worthwhile investment. That's how important I think this program is.
We are approaching a crisis point in America. The vast majority of the people I know who are my age and out of school do not have medical coverage because they can't afford insurance. What we are currently doing is simply NOT working and I whole-heartedly support Philahealthia's attempt at innovation. If you have issues with the way in which the organization is run then, please, join the cause by putting all of your effort and resources into helping them ameliorate those issues, not by trying to stop them.
I know that as part of an organization whose whole purpose is to secure the well-being of Pennsylvania's citizens by making sure they have a support system in times of crisis, and as fellow human beings, you are all concerned about the thousands who currently lack this support. This is a very difficult issue to address and solutions are hard to come by. Today we have one presented to us which is already working well in another area. Let us take it! Let Philadelphia become a model of progressive and innovative insurance policy for cities around the country...because it is right...and because it is time.
Respectfully,
Dyresha Harris
Philadelphia, PA
Dear Pennsylvania Insurance Department,
I am writing to you to request that the State Insurance Department allow PhilaHealthia to continue as a pilot program within the guidelines of established standards for health co-operatives, as written by the U.S. Health Alliance: legislation.
It is clear that our health care system is in crisis, with rapidly rising costs, decreasing access, and wide variations in quality. One solution that can improve access is a health co-operative, such as the one started in Ithaca, New York. The co-operative model allows patients to access care for minor emergencies, at a low cost.
There are currently 900,000 Pennsylvanians, including 135,000 Philadelphians, without health insurance, and waiting lists for Adult Basic Care continue to grow. PhilaHealthia offers an alterative for low-income and self-employed persons to obtain some coverage. I strongly urge you to allow this innovative concept to continue to enroll eligible patients. legislation Sincerely,
Adam Gilden Tsai, MD
Philadelphia, PA
Dear Mr. McGinty,
I understand, from reading Philahealthia's website, that you have ordered that Philahealthia, a new health insurance co-operative, to cease to exist. I am writing to interest you in reconsidering that order.
That cease and desist order does not seem to be in anyone's interest. The only reason I can think of for your new policy is that you may be under pressure from insurance companies to remove competition. However, the majority of people interested in joining Philahealthia are not currently insured and therefore cannot afford to be even potential customers of another insurance company. I know that some quotes on the website encourage even those who are insured to join; however, realistically the number of people who do that will be small. Philahealthia may actually cause insurance companies to prosper since fewer uninsured people will be clogging emergency rooms and delaying care for those who are insured. This will tend to make the companies look good. Your reversal could be done with great political spin and win you points in the same way that a corporate donation to charity does.
Thank you for taking the time to read and consider this. I would be thrilled to receive a letter correcting any of my view points and I would share it with my neighbors.
Sincerely,
Ann Dixon
Dear John McGinty,
I was shocked to hear that you have sent a "cease and desist" letter to the PhilaHealthia co-operative. I am writing to ask that you reconsider your actions, and allow PhilaHealthia to continue as a pilot program.
Health care in Pennsylvania is in a sorry state and new ideas need to be given a chance. Take my own recent experience as an example of just how bad things have become:
When I left my former employer to start my own business, I was offered temporary COBRA coverage at $14,000 per year. I am young, healthy, and so is my wife. Feeling that $14,000 was pretty much a catastrophic loss all by itself, I applied for an HSA with a deductible of $10,000 just to have something in the worst case, and to get the benefit of lower prices from collective bargaining. As it turned out, I was denied because I have the "pre-existing condition" of HEARTBURN! And this was from the exact same insurer who covered me previously under the group plan at my former employer. I had to change the whole structure of a business just to get a group health care plan that could not be denied.
We need more free-market ideas like PhilaHealthia. Please reconsider your decision and let the people of Philadelphia do something constructive about the crisis in health care insurance that stifles entrepreneurship.
Aetna, the company that denied me health insurance for heartburn, is the organization that deserves a "cease and desist" letter, not PhilaHealthia.
Sincerely,
Randall Emery
Lansdowne, PA
Greetings,
I'm addressing this request to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department.
As an uninsured, hard working, tax paying resident of Philadelphia, I'm very interested in the Philahealthia plan that Paul Glover has brought to this town.
As I read the articles on the website, PhilaHealthia.org I drew the conclusion that you made your decision on a political agenda.
Now, I ask you to please rethink your decision and consider the people of this state who need health care, but cannot afford it.
Please remember that we all are breathing the same air and live on the same Earth, but some cannot afford the "same" health insurance.
We must help each other by showing compassion and improving the quality of life for our fellow human beings.
Please respond to this email, letting me know my voice has been heard.
Thank you for your time,
Sincerely, Kathleen Card
Philadelphia, PA
Dear Mr. McGinty:
Approximately 135,500 Philadelphians were living without health insurance in 2002. This is an increase of approximately 36,000 since 2000, a number that is continually growing.
Many of the uninsured are working. In Philadelphia, 34.7 percent of the uninsured are employed full time, and 24.8 percent are working part time. More and more of Philadelphia's low- and moderate-wage workers do not get health insurance from their jobs.
I work full time. In my job working in prison reform and advocacy, and in my former employment working in domestic violence and mental health, I help many poor people find resources without which they would be destitute, very unwell, or dead.
And one of the major barriers to all the communities I have worked for was HEALTH CARE.
Sliding scale health care, dental, and mental health care services for those who do not quality under the government's unrealistic poverty guidelies remain unaffordable. Many people who pay taxes and work hard are unable to afford basic dental care. Have you every tried to function with a tooth that is rotted to pulp inside, and it feels like a sharp nail is being alternately shoved into and wrenching out of your molar and gums? I have. And there was nothing I could do about it because I did not have dental insurance, and my work schedule would not allow me to go to the clinic, where I would have to wait inevitably for 4 hours to be seen, not even to have the pain remedied. My suffering was nothing compared to the mothers with dead end jobs who end up getting slammed with $700 emergency room bills after their two year old is ill.
Please support universal health care. Ithaca Health Co-Op is an excellent model, and, if the state will not support my wellness, then it should absolutely endorse an option that I can afford, while simultaneously taking much of the burden of epidemic lack of health insurance off taxpayers aching shoulders.
Thank you.
Alison R. Park
Philadelphia, PA
Dear John McGinty and the Pennsylvania Insurance Department,
I am writing in support of Philahealthia and the work that they are doing to address the problem of lack of affordable health coverage in this state and country. I am a recent college graduate and have only begun facing the enormous challenge of paying for health insurance coverage. For a year I had been paying a large portion of my meager salary for minimum health coverage through Blue Cross/Blue Shield, thinking that in return, I was getting some assurance of assistance if ever I had a medical emergency. Imagine my dismay when I discovered I have a heart condition and had to have extensive testing done on my heart, and even worse, ended up paying for all of it out of my pocket! One of many times that the health care I needed slipped through the lines of the coverage BC/BS provides under my plan. I hate feeling like every time I send out my health insurance payment I am blowing money into the air, or worse, blowing it into Blue Cross's $4 billion surplus!
I believe that health care is a human right, not a thing to be profited off of, and I think it is sad that the US is one of the richest countries in the world and the only one without universal health coverage. After living in Europe for half a year, I have discovered that this fact alone is a running joke among the rest of the world: they see it as one of many indicators that this country is run by corporations trying to make a profit, not by its citizens. It saddens me that you too are a part of that corruption: Philahealthia is a not-for-(4 billion!)profit organization that uses the principles of the cooperative to extend actual health coverage to those who otherwise could not afford it. I hope that you will rethink your decision and use your experience and position to encourage it and guide it, not squash it.
Sincerely,
Julia Jack-Scott
Philadelphia, PA
Dear John McGinty:
In light of the insurance crisis in Pennsylvania please permit PhilaHealthia to continue as a pilot program within the following standards (healthdemocracy.org/legislation.html)
The overt corruption inherent and widespread in the health insurance and medical insurance industry operating in PA today should be the real subject of a cease and desist order emanating from the PA INSURANCE DEPARTMENT. Let's have some action on a real threat to the health and well-being of Pennsylvanians
Richard L. Biddle
140 Bethlehem Pike
Philadelphia, PA 19118-2815
I am writing in support of the Philahealthia healthcare cooperative.
Two years ago, I was left without health coverage as an adjunct professor at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. I applied for Pennsylvania's Adult Basic coverage and was waitlisted for more than 18 months. When I finally received my voucher for ONE clinic visit, I had already gotten a new job with benefits, and had spent well over $1,000 on medical bills and prescriptions.
I am at a loss as to why you would actively prevent low-income Pennsylvanians from embracing an opportunity to provide themselves with affordable insurance. Philahealthia is based on a successful, legal model out of Ithaca New York. The state's reluctance to allow Philahealthia to move forward suggests, to me, a general attitude of ill-will toward the lower income residents of this city.
Melissa Lenos
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA
Dear Sir
I am trying to obtain reasonably priced insurance for my son. He is at the stage of his career where he is earning very little money - mostly doing internships. The Philahealthia Plan seemed to offer exactly what we want, and has the success and approval of the similar plan in Ithaca, NY to build upon. I have been very shocked to find that our health insurance regulators in this State have squashed this innovative plan. Shocked, because the Governor of our State has stated very publically that ... he thinks "that every Pennsylvanian, every American, should have health insurance coverage, ... that means the states need to step up and create innovative plans that will work for their citizens. That's what we're going to do in Pennsylvania." Yet it seems that we are doing exactly the opposite.
The Pennsylvania Insurance Commission is charged with using its collective power and intelligence and imagination to provide Pennsylvanians with effective, affordable health insurance. The Governor has given clear direction that innovation is to be encouraged. But what PID does is absolutely the reverse of this:
. For a well-established, very wealthy fund, the PID can creatively waive the rules and allow a $4 billion surplus to be retained (Blue Cross)
. For an innovation, seeking to establish itself along lines proven in NY, there is absolutely no creativity or tolerance for imagination (Philahealthia).
Instead, there is an order to cease and desist recruiting. This is stupid and deeply depressing. I guess that Diane Koken, as a former Vice President of an established HMO is likely to only see benefit in helping other established HMOs - but this is not what our Governor wants, or what the citizens want. You are not serving the citizens of the Commonwealth by shutting down new ideas, and if you are not serving the citizens you should give up your role to someone who will do that.
Please can you tell me where I can get health insurance for my son at $100 per year now that you have squashed this excellent idea.
Bob Phillips
Mr. McGinty,
I am writing to you as one of the under-insured in Philadelphia and asking you to please reconsider your order to "cease and desist" the acts of PhilaHealthia.
Due to my employment outside of the large corporate world I am forced to find and fund catastrophic coverage for myself. This has landed me in the public health clinic where I was informed that I should just visit the E.R. where they will be forced to accept me regardless of my ability to pay, which would adversely affect my credit rating and send me home with a high hospital bill and creditors on my phone. I said no thank you and took the risk that my body would remedy itself.
Fortunately that was the case. It's not like that everyone. In fact, the entire ordeal was demoralizing as I watched others, myself included, in the clinic treated like cattle. And I, unlike most people who fall between the cracks, have a law degree and the know-how to draft a complaint against those who seek not solve the ills of society but only to further them. As you may have already noted I am furious that the stop order was issued, furious that Governor Rendell has not stepped in or that Mayor Street has plead for assistance. Furious, but not surprised. It is just this sort of plan that help Philadelphia attain it's position as the next great American city. There is so much to capitalize on here, but the government and its bureaucracy continues to stunt the natural growth and prosperity of this city. When I moved here over two years ago I saw that hope and lived that hope, but now I find myself day-dreaming about where I will go after I finally realize that Philadelphia will once again implode. I will not be alone in this exodus.
Please do your part and reconsider your actions for the health of everyone, especially for those that can't help themselves.
Sincerely,
Michelle Beaman
Philadelphia
Dear Mr. McGinty,
I was recently referred to Philahealthia by a friend I respect and trust. I had actually read about the Ithaca model so was excited that Philadelphia was starting to build a progressive health-care organization.
Unfortunately, I was dismayed to read (on Philahealthia's website) that they have been ordered to cease and desist.
You must understand that it seems highly illogical and, if I may be frank, evil to order an organization such as Philahealthia to cease and desist. They are offering hope to a majority of Philadelphians, such as myself.
I haven't had healthcare since moving to Philadelphia in 1997. I haven't seen a doctor or dentist since the mid 90's. Philahealthia's $100/year fee seemed extremely fair - I would've been able to cover myself and my wife for $200! Can you think of any other plan that offers a deal like that?
I am curious as to how you sleep at night knowing that you are quashing an organization that is actually trying to HELP other people. Please reconsider your backward reasoning and work with Philahealthia to help it grow so that common folks can have access to healthcare.
Edan Cohen
Philadelphia
Dear Pennsylvania Insurance Department,
I am writing to you to request that the State Insurance Department allow PhilaHealthia to continue as a pilot program within the guidelines of established standards for health co-operatives, as written by the U.S. Health Alliance.
For many Pennsylvanians myself included it is the only way to get some coverage. It is not a competition to the HMO because I'll never be able to afford there prices.
Please consider that.
Warm blessings
Nachshon Da-vid Mahanymi
Bryn Mawr PA
Dear Mr. McGinty,
Two and a half years ago I moved to Wrightstown, PA, where together with my wife I have been running a small organic vegetable farm. We are working with the local government and the community to provide the area with locally grown sustainable food while preserving open space for agriculture. The first two years in Pennsylvania my wife and I were entirely without healthcare, as the earnings of a small family farm are very modest, and the state put us on a waiting list for its program.
We were very encouraged to discover that PhilaHealthia had recently been founded, as it is surely a rare bright point in an area in great need of improvement. Having moved to PA from Ithaca, NY, we are familiar with the Ithaca Health Alliance, the program upon which PhilaHealthia is based. As members of the Ithaca Health Alliance we were able to visit the dentist and felt secure knowing that help was available for basic needs. As farmers who grew organic produce we were also "providers" in the Alliance. Most important of all, the Ithaca Health Alliance and PhilaHealthia have the potential of making a real difference for the needs of the community.
When I look around I see a conventional healthcare system which is motivated by greed. Families like mine, in which the the members are hardworking and are even attempting to contribute to the general improvement of society's well being, are left behind without the hope of taking care of basic medical needs.
I realize that PhilaHealthia is new and unknown in this state, but in my view it is time for a new approach. New York state found a way to accept the Ithaca Health Alliance and I would hope that my new home of Pennsylvania can be similarly innovative and allow PhilaHealthia to continue as a pilot program. Just as Wrightstown Township has been recognized for its forward thinking in its support of open space and sustainable agriculture, the state will surely have much positive feedback for being a part of the solution to repairing an ailing healthcare system, rather than impeding much needed progress.
Finally, I have great respect and faith in those who are behind PhilaHealthia. As with the Ithaca Health Alliance, the organizers are working on behalf of all of us, with no expectation of personal profit.
Sincerely,
Jon Thorne
Wrightstown, PA
Dear Mr. McGinty,
I am writing in support of PhilaHealthia, which has been issued a cease and desist order by the Pennsylvania Insurance Department. As a cooperative activist and as a University of Pennsylvania graduate student in urban studies specializing in cooperatives, I've followed this organization closely and believe your action to be mistaken for two reasons. FIrst, PhilaHealthia's products do not include risk- bearing insurance and are not advertised as such. Second, it provides a public good that the Commonwealth has an interest in promoting and should therefore be allowed to continue as a pilot program if it falls under the jurisdiction of the Insurance Department at all.
The primary reason for state regulation of insurance is to ensure that providers' assets, premiums, and management are sufficient to meet any payment obligations that can reasonably be expected to occur. Because all PhilaHealthia payments are discretionary grants, no such obligation exists. Furthermore, all their literature clearly states that they are not offering insurance plans and that no payments are guaranteed, so no question of fraud exists.
While PhilaHealthia unfortunately does not yet have the resources to provide health insurance, it does help the many Pennsylvanians who do not have access to comprehensive health coverage to at least get some emergency and preventive care or to supplement low-cost major medical plans. In this way, it falls squarely in the American tradition of non-profit mutual aid organizations that provide limited benefits to members who would otherwise be left in the cold. In the past, such organizations have been organized on the basis of ethnicity, religion, occupation, or simply affiliation with a fraternal group. The Ithaca Health Alliance, on which Philahealthia was modeled, is the contemporary form of this type of organization.
Sincerely,
Daniel Flaumenhaft
Philadelphia, PA
John McGinty
Special Investigator
Pennsylvania Insurance Department
Dear John McGinty:
On February 1, 2006, my wife and I will enter the ranks of the many other Pennsylvanians without health insurance. We have been fortunate to have been part of the Keystone Health Plan East for those of low income. This plan costing us $30 each per month was affordable. We have now been notified that our income is too high. Therefore we face a choice of paying perhaps $18,000 per year for health insurance or going uninsured. We must go uninsured because there is no way we can afford to pay for the insurance plans available.
I find it unthinkable that your office asked Philahealthia to stop enrolling members. This cooperative health plan would greatly benefit people like us who can no longer afford the outrageously high health insurance premiums. An alternative like Philahealthia, based on a successful model approved in New York State, would help make Pennsylvania a leader in issues of justice for the uninsured.
Please reconsider your decision to ask Philahealthia to cease and desist enrolling new members. Such a decision only benefits those who profit from the high cost of presently available health insurance, but in the long run does not help to build a healthy society. I urge you to find a way to affirm the work of Philahealthia and assist in any way possible the building of a strong organization that can serve the needs of those not able to benefit from the present system.
Sincerely,
J. Andy Smith III
Devon, PA
Hi, My names is Mary Gabriele and I am a second year family practice resident here in Pennsylvania. I do not understand why the Pennsylvania Insurance Department will not work with the good citizens of this State who want to help Pennsylvanians and Philadelphians to have access to medical care and some type of emergency medical insurance. Can you please explain your logic and reasoning on this question? If no one provides it, what will happen to the people of this Commonwealth? Who ultimately will pay for all the uninsured visits to emergency rooms or for a final catastrophic illness?
Frankly, I am very distressed to hear your Department's response to this issue instead of working with people who are finally trying to do something about this dreadful and dire situation. Please respond before I am forced to come to my own conclusions about this.
PLEASE RECONSIDER AND GRANT THEM PERMISSION AS A PILOT PROGRAM. This may sound corny but there is so much good that could be done through such a program. Surely, you and your Department do not want to be known or perhaps interpreted falsely as corrupt individuals who stood by and did nothing when such a need existed.
Thank you,
Mary Gabriele, M.D.
Dear Mr. McGinty:
I am outraged that the PA Dept of Insurance has ordered a cease-and-desist to PhilaHealthia, a group trying to help uninsured Pennsylvanians obtain insurance.
Your mandate and mission is to help, not hinder or block, citizens from obtaining health insurance. I want to enroll in their plan as there are NO ALTERNATIVES. Every other insurance plan is financially impossible for me. What are you doing to protect the 900,000 citizens who are not insured in this state?
I ask you to lift the cease-and-desist order from PhilaHealthia immediately. You should be doing everything in your power to help any group that is trying to promote health equity, including giving them the necessary means to be in compliance with the state. Cease-and-desist orders are punitive, retaliatory, and create a stong impression and perception among Pennsylvanians that your office is complicit with the insurance industry.
Sincerely,
Debbie Levin
Philadelphia, PA
Dear Mr. McGinty and the PA Dept. of Insurance:
ÊÊÊÊÊ It is a fact that the gap between lower-income households and highest-income households has considerably widened inÊrecent times.Ê With the middle class disappearing, as more and more are being forcedÊinto poverty, it is only human for healthcare coverage to be readily available to ANY in need - rich or poor.Ê Regardless of whose job it is to ensure that everyone has access toÊthese services, I plead with you to find empathy in your hearts for those who need this service the most.Ê It may not be you or me, butÊthere areÊmany others - others in dire need of alternatives to the traditional healthcare model currently being enforced as the "norm" in the United States - it is perceived as the "norm" because of the lack of alternatives!Ê
Please find it in your heart to allow PhilaHealthia to exist, especiallyÊfor those who are in need.Ê If additional resources are needed to lift the cease-and-desist order, then it isÊmy strongest desire that you acquire these resources and make your move to lift it.Ê Otherwise, I cannot help but personally feel that you may be in compliance with the insurance industry, as your bias is quite obvious.ÊÊÊ
Sincerely,
Termeh Kuklinski
We want health insurance-- PhilaHealthia-- and we want it now!!!!
Sylvia Walker
Philadelphia PA
See letters written by members of the Ithaca Health Alliance to the NYS Insurance Deptartment. NYSID allowed IHA to continue.
We invite you to send an email to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department:
jmcginty@state.pa.us and copy to paul5glover@yahoo.com