Independence Blue Cross has offered both the government Children's Health Insurance Program and its own private Special Care plan to low-income people since the early 1990s. But the impact on children in the two plans only recently came to the attention of Philadelphia health-care advocates.
At their urging, the Pennsylvania Insurance Department is expected to meet next week with Independence Blue Cross and Pennsylvania's three other Blue Cross companies to determine what can be done to shift the children into free insurance. State officials said they wanted to know how many children statewide are in Special Care, including the 3,100 reported by Independence Blue Cross.
"There is incredulity about why someone might choose a product they have to pay for" if they don't have to, said Pat Stromberg, a deputy commissioner for the insurance department. "We need to learn more about that."
Butch Ward, Blue Cross' vice president of corporate affairs, said a number of families continued to choose Special Care to insure their children despite the company's heavy promotion of CHIP. "We have been champions of CHIP since its inception," he said.
About 134,000 children across Pennsylvania are enrolled in CHIP. The program uses federal and state funding, provides health insurance at no or little cost for children whose families earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but may struggle to pay for private health insurance. The Blue Cross companies are among Pennsylvania insurers providing CHIP coverage under state contracts.
The Blues also sell Special Care, a separate, private insurance plan for low-income families. The monthly premium for a child costs a family about $45 with Independence Blue Cross.
However, a child who is eligible for Special Care is also eligible for CHIP - at no cost.
