HARRISBURG -- The federal government has not yet approved Gov. Tom Corbett's "Healthy PA" Medicaid overhaul, but his administration is moving forward with the piece of the overhaul that would extend private health insurance to Pennsylvania's working poor.

The administration will announce today that nine commercial insurers have submitted applications and been approved as part of the plan's private coverage option, if that plan is approved by the federal government.

There will be at least three commercial plan options, and in some parts of the state, as many as six, for enrollees to choose from.

In Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington and Westmoreland counties, the plans are United Healthcare, Aetna Better Health, UPMC, Vista and Keystone Health Plan West/Highmark.

Instead of expanding the state's existing Medicaid program using federal money, as is permitted by the 2010 Affordable Care Act, Mr. Corbett wants to use that money to provide eligible households with "premium assistance" to purchase their own health policies.

First Published: June 20, 2014, 4:00 a.m.
Updated: June 20, 2014, 2:49 p.m.