18 states refuse to run insurance pools for those with preexisting conditions

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/03/AR2010050304072.html?wpisrc=nl_politics

Eighteen states have said they will not administer a stopgap program to provide insurance coverage to people whose preexisting conditions have left them uninsured, forcing the federal government to do the work.



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Some governors said they were unwilling to take on the task because it appears that Congress has allocated too little money.

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The health-care law says that the high-risk pools are meant to give people with preexisting conditions "immediate access to insurance," and it requires that they be established within 90 days of the law's March enactment. To qualify, individuals must have been uninsured for six months. The premiums are supposed to match those for a "standard population." Out-of-pocket expenses will be capped -- in the case of individuals, at $5,950.

The article didn't list which 18 states refused. The only one mentioned specifically was Va.. Big surprise there!

I hope that the US government runs one big pool for all those states. In the interest of efficiency, they could simply administer it as Medicare.

I then hope that they offer that service to the other states.

I hope they keep it open to new enrollees after 2014. But we won't call it the public option, we'll call it "Medicare for all".

Fine by me! Thanks for that important step in the right direction.

Actually, given that VA is temporarily run by teabaggers, I'm rather surprised they would encourage such a progressive, Democratic Party measure.

Party-line split on high-risk pools

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But the results show just how divisive the health reform plan still is.

Of the 15 states that turned down the contract, three are led by Democratic governors – Wyoming, Tennessee and Delaware. Many of those that turned it down cited concern that the $5 billion HHS had set aside for the pools wouldn’t be enough and that the states would be left with the tab. HHS told state officials in a conference call recently that they wouldn’t let that happen.

“After careful analysis of the new law, consultation with state health and insurance officials and communications with state lawmakers and HHS, the state of Texas cannot today commit to operating the new high-risk pool due to the lack of program rules or reliable federal funding,” Texas Gov. Rick Perry said late on Friday. “I do not believe the aggressive implementation and the lack of assurances on financial solvency of the program are in the best interest of Texas taxpayers, families, patients or health care providers.”

Of the 28 states that said they would do the work themselves, only seven are led by Republicans –Alaska, California, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Vermont. The states will pursue federal contracts to do the work will get a piece of the $5 billion allocated to the program.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/36662.html

anyone at all, regardless of political orientation, thinks it's okay for anyone at all to be without health care. Do they honestly think that those without some kind of health insurance simply never go to a hospital or doctor? Do they think those people just magically get well, or quietly die without ever using the system?

Alaska Comprehensive Health Insurance Association (ACHIA) which covers hard-to-insure people. I believe this has been in effect for quite a while because I remember looking into it for my ex-husband, and we've been apart almost ten years.

https://www.achia.com/docs/2008%20Annual%20Report%20-%20Final%209%2030%2009.pdf

because most of the current State programs are too expensive to afford.

the current State programs are too expensive. There is a cap on out of pocket costs in the new program.

Under the 14th Amendment. People will not be afforded equal protection and be discriminated against because they live in certain states.

Privileges and immunities clause too.