More than 700 Lancaster County doctors have donated their time to provide medical care to people who cannot afford to pay.

Through the Project Access Lancaster County program, local doctors have volunteered more than $6 million in care by providing 8,500 patient visits.

And they have done so for an administrative cost of only $231,000, state Sen. Mike Brubaker said this morning.

The program has been so successful that Brubaker wants to see it implemented statewide.

He is proposing a $4 million legislative initiative to set up a screening and scheduling program across the commonwealth.

"If you take $6 million in donated medical services in Lancaster County alone and multiply it statewide, you can see the beneficial effect," he said this morning.

Brubaker, of Warwick Township, was to meet late this morning with fellow Republican Sen. Lloyd Smucker, of West Lampeter, Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee Chairman Ted Erickson and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Jake Corman at South East Lancaster Health Services, a clinic at 625 S. Duke St.

They were to promote Brubaker's initiative as part of the Republican-backed HealthNET PA proposal.

"Doctors want to volunteer their time to help low-income and uninsured people, but they want to do it in a very efficient system to insure that they are seeing people that are truly in need," he said.

HealthNET would encourage the state's estimated 500,000 uninsured and working poor people to utilize the doctor's donated services and those of the state's free or low-cost health clinics.

The bill hopes to encourage preventative medical care at clinics, rather than having uninsured people wait until they are very ill and burdening hospital emergency rooms.

The costs of providing care to new clinic patients would be paid, in part, by businesses that would receive tax credits for donating to clinics.

Republicans contend the bill would provide coverage more quickly and at a lower cost than other proposals.

"I know physicians in Lancaster do donate an incredible amount of time. I think they do give back a lot," said Democrat state Rep. P. Michael Sturla this morning, but added: "I'm always hesitant to embrace a safety net system that relies on there always being a ready supply of volunteers."

Sturla, of Lancaster City, has championed House initiatives extending medical coverage to the uninsured. He questioned how effective HealthNET would be in Philadelphia — where there are many uninsured people — or in rural areas of the state — where there are few doctors.

"Basically, what they are saying is that instead of offering basic health insurance to people, they should just go get it at a free clinic," said Sturla, a Democrat.

The visit to Lancaster follows events at hospitals in Altoona and Chester and a clinic in Allentown at which Republican senators promoted their health plan.


Staff writer Bernard Harris can be reached at bharris@LNPnews.com or 481-6022.