May 4, 2010: High-risk pools are designed for those with pre-existing health conditions who do not have access to employer-sponsored insurance. Many states operate high-risk pools.
Last Friday, April 30th, marked the deadline for states to respond to Secretary Sebelius’ inquiry about participation in a federal high-risk pool program that was established as part of the new health insurance reform law.
The program, for which federal funding starts July 1st, will be available to all Americans meeting the eligibility criteria until January 1st, 2014 when health insurance exchanges are set to go live.
HHS has proposed funding allocations to states using a formula similar to allocations for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Reallocation of funding for the high-risk pool is planned to occur after 2 years, as it does with CHIP.
SHADAC has two issue briefs on state high-risk pools: Issue Brief #14 "State High Risk Pools and Overview" (July 2008) and Issue Brief #20 "Issues for State High-Risk Pools with Implementation of National Health Reform." To learn more about Minnesota’s high-risk pool, read this recent Health Affairs blog entry by SHADAC’s director, Lynn A. Blewett, and Courtney Burke.