Well, its been 90 days...

[FinanceGeek]

The healthcare reform law says that the new Federal/State risk pools were to be up and running by now. I asked a question here before of how this might worsen the situation of those with pre-existing conditions who lives in states that already have a high risk pool since the new law requires that one be without insurance for 6 months to be eligible for the new pool.

Anybody have a state by state update on what's changed? And details like whether these new plans offer unlimited lifetime payouts unlike current high risk pool plans. I only could find an overview of the new law as it relates to this topic - link below.

http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/8066.pdf

 

[REWahoo]

Here is what the Texas High Risk Pool says about the new law:

http://www.txhealthpool.org/New Temporary Federal Pool Notice 05-26-2010_.pdf

Interesting that the folks who qualify for the new Federal plan can, starting August 1, get coverage for half what DW is paying for her coverage in the pool.

 

[FinanceGeek]

Interesting that the folks who qualify for the new Federal plan can, starting August 1, get coverage for half what DW is paying for her coverage in the pool.

Yep, it may just pay to go uninsured (or perhaps be expat and uninsured from a US point of view) for awhile to get into a plan with lower premiums. Ah how I love the smell of moral hazards in the morning.

For policies issued or renewed after 6 months from enactment, or ~Sept 23, there aren't supposed to be lifetime and annual limits on coverage. Does this apply to the existing state-run high risk pools?

Guess we wait another 90 days to find out.

 

[ziggy29]

From the letter:

As mentioned above, the Federal Pool will be available only to individuals who have been
uninsured throughout the 6-month period prior to their application to the Federal Pool.

I wonder how many people are going to take a risk and "go naked" for six months hoping they don't have a medical emergency in that time?

 

[FIRE'd@51]

Interesting that the folks who qualify for the new Federal plan can, starting August 1, get coverage for half what DW is paying for her coverage in the pool.

Yep, and this is probably why the new Federal high-risk pool is forecast to run out of the money necessary to take new enrollees sometime around the middle of 2011.