States Decline High-Risk Insurance

Since the passage of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, eighteen states have now turned down the option of a state-run high–risk affordable health insurance pool. The original intent was for the states to offer temporary insurance coverage through the high-risk pools for those individuals with chronic illnesses and pre-existing conditions. One of the main problems is the lack of funding to accomplish this feat for the thousands of individuals desperate for state-run insurance guided by a sliding scale margin. What the government is permitting is:

1. States are permitted to create their own temporary high-risk insurance pools

2. States are permitted to expand the existing temporary high-risk insurance pools

3. States are permitted to relinquish to the states the temporary high-risk low-cost health insurance pools

What is the purpose of the states going through all the expense, time, and trouble to find the necessary funding to establish these temporary high-risk insurance pools for individuals with chronic illnesses and pre-existing conditions when the program must be extinguished by January 1, 2014? This is when the government-run insurance exchanges will be established and operational for the same purpose.

The insurance costs will climb even higher today because the states will need to find creative ways to take in even more money from the citizens to fund the individual health insurance program they are only permitted to enforce until January 1, 2014. This will be a serious expense for the states to incorporate high-risk insurance into their state budget, only to turn around and relinquish it back to the federal government.

Many of the other states that had originally agreed to the terms of the high-risk health insurance pool agreement with the federal government are now having second thoughts. The other states may follow suit and relinquish the responsibility of the high-risk insurance program back to the federal government because they are short on funding. How this will help those individuals with chronic illnesses and one or more pre-existing conditions leaves a question. As usual, it seems the citizenry is used as the pawn and that is sad.

The federal government is also experiencing a major problem with high-risk insurance. It seems they only have enough federal funding to keep the new universal healthcare program running for the first two years provided they do not offer high-risk insurance coverage to all citizens who are suffering from chronic illnesses and pre-existing conditions.

This situation highlights the complexities of implementing large-scale healthcare reforms. As states grapple with short-term funding challenges and the looming federal takeover of high-risk insurance, individuals with pre-existing conditions must ensure they have strong health insurance coverage to navigate the uncertainties. Consulting a healthcare provider or insurance expert can help patients make informed choices, while a robust health insurance plan provides the security needed during this transition phase.