NEWSMAX: One of the main pillars of the Obama administration’s massive healthcare law – the special plans devoted to those unable to obtain insurance through normal means – is attracting only a small fraction of what was expected. The result is that the program may end up costing taxpayers far more than the $5 billion originally set aside, according to the Washington Post.
One reason for the reluctance of consumers to sign up for the plans, collectively known as the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, is that they are far more expensive than alternatives the uninsured might find elsewhere, the Post is reporting. Since the plans opened in the late summer and early fall, the medical bills in some states are much higher than anticipated.
The reason is that if fewer people sign up, the costs cannot be defrayed over a huge number of people paying into them.
The plans, known as high-risk pools, will take time to adjust prices and benefits, federal officials tell the Post. But since last spring, when Medicare program’s chief actuary predicted that 375,000 people would sign up by the end of 2010, only 8,000 have enrolled, according to the Health and Human Services Department. Nationally, there are some 50 million uninsured who, in theory, should benefit from the plans… (more)
