Legislation on its way to Gov. Tom Wolf's desk allows his administration to take over Pennsylvania's online health insurance exchange in a bid to save money for hundreds of thousands of people.
The bill received final approval Friday in the Republican-controlled Legislature. Wolf had pressed for the bill to pass this month in the hope that its savings measures can take full effect in 2021.
Currently, Pennsylvanians can buy Affordable Care Act-compliant policies on the Healthcare.gov website operated by the federal government.
Wolf's administration says it can operate an insurance exchange for about one-third the cost charged by the federal government and use the savings to qualify for extra federal aid.
It says the combined cash can lower premiums for the 400,000 people who buy policies in the marketplace by 5% to 10%.
