By DANIELLE LYNCH dlynch@delcotimes.com @dmlreporter

State Sen. Ted Erickson, R-26, of Newtown, is attempting to garner support for a bill which would help develop and expand community-based health care clinics in Pennsylvania.

Erickson emphasized the importance of the legislation in a letter, dated March 1, to state Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-9, of Chester.

As you are aware, I continue to advocate for the passage of Senate Bill 5, which establishes the community-based health care program in Pennsylvania, Erickson wrote in the letter to Pileggi. While this legislation will not totally solve the problem of providing access to health care and to facilities where those who are uninsured in our Commonwealth can receive services, it will result in medical homes for underserved people in rural, suburban and urban settings.

Furthermore, (Senate Bill 5) will decrease the cost of uncompensated care and create alternatives to hospital emergency rooms that currently serve as the primary care providers for many of the uninsured. For these reasons, it is critical that we pass (Senate Bill 5) in the Senate as soon as possible.

Erickson explained during a phone interview and in the letter to Pileggi that his bill is important within the context of President Barack Obamas health care law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Recently, discussions of providing medical care to Pennsylvanians who do not have access to care have expanded to include the issue of expanding our Medical Assistance program, he wrote. Expansion could occur by taking advantage of the federal (health care law) provision that gives states 100 percent federal funding for individuals up to 138 percent of the poverty level including childless adults.

Erickson cited a policy brief, The Future of Medicaid Long Term Care Services in Pennsylvania: A Wake Up Call, in his letter. He said the brief indicates that Pennsylvania is currently faced with an ever increasing Medical Assistance caseload and related costs regardless of expansion of Medical Assistance under the Affordable Care Act.

Currently, there are approximately 2.1 to 2.2 million people who are (Medical Assistance) recipients and the annual rate of growth in the program has been 11 percent, Erickson wrote, citing the report that he received from Pileggi. If this rate of growth continues, there will be an increase in the rolls this year of over 238,000 individuals. If the cost of providing (Medical Assistance) coverage is $6,000 per person per year, the annual cost will be in excess of $1.4 billion for these 238,000 recipients alone.

As this shows, regardless of any action the state may take with respect to the (Affordable Care Act) and (Medical Assistance) expansion, our costs are increasing. The Commonwealth must make additional efforts to reduce costs by reducing emergency room use, providing preventive care to adults and treating chronic conditions before they require more intensive medical intervention all of which would be addressed under (Senate Bill 5). And, although the expansion of (Medical Assistance) will cost $3 billion over a 10 year period, advocates still believe that there is a potential to reduce overall expenditures in the health care system.

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State senator pushing for health care