SelectPlan for Women Gets 6 Month Extension

an edited press release from our friends at www.accessmatters.org

Governor Corbett announced today that the Administration will seek a 6-month extension for SelectPlan for Women, Pennsylvania’s family planning Medicaid waiver program. 

SelectPlan for Women expands the financial eligibility criteria of regular Medicaid coverage to allow women ages 18-44 with somewhat higher incomes to receive free family planning services including birth control, Pap smears, and breast exams.   SelectPlan was set to expire on December 31, 2014 leaving thousands of women without coverage for birth control or other family planning services. 

Even after Healthy PA is implemented, coverage gaps are likely to continue.  Enrollment experiences in other states have highlighted this unfortunate reality.  After Massachusetts implemented full universal healthcare coverage, approximately 2 percent of the population remained uninsured and up to 6 percent reported being without insurance for some portion of the first year of their plan.   

The additional time will allow AccessMatters and other organizations to work with Governor-elect Wolf and his administration to determine the role of SelectPlan in addressing these coverage gaps.  SelectPlan for Women also ensures a level of confidentiality that may not exist in private coverage options offered through Healthy PA. The extension will allow the Department of Health to address how explanations of benefits will be handled under the Healthy PA program to ensure the same level of confidentiality is maintained beyond the SelectPlan for Women program.