Daily News Updates - Health Insurance News

Mr. McCain on Health Insurance/Care, Pt.7 – Programs themselves, being crushed by the weight.

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The State of Maine has been very active in maintaining this high-risk health insurance program, but has been met with some harsh realities. Mila Kofman is Maine's superintendent of health insurance. Her comments, after all these years are: "They haven't been very successful." "They are certainly not the starting point.” She stresses that If the goal is to achieve health insurance coverage that is comprehensive and affordable, high-risk pools have simply not delivered. “They've done just the opposite," she summarizes.

Even after the ‘lucky’ few get accepted for health insurance enrollment, they may still have to wait from 90 days to a full year because of their pre-existing conditions (which is the whole reason for the programs in the first place). Talk about irony. Ms. Kofman, again, is very attuned to the futility of these programs and further explains some of the ‘large cracks’ in the system. She talks about the 340 diabetic patients who live in states with these programs. She states that, only seven 7 actually worked out. The looming problems were always the same. Either the health insurance coverage was unavailable, unaffordable, inadequate for their needs, or combinations from all of the above.

The newest picture isn’t pretty. The diabetes population continues to grow. Accessible and affordable health insurance does not. This is becoming a real concern for many. The high risk pools, even with their high premium costs don’t begin to cover their expenses. These programs barely even survive with the state funding that keeps them alive. These well-minded states are also in a struggle and have to assess employers, hospitals, and, even health insurers.

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