House Health Care Plan Is Not Enough to Keep High-Risk Pools Afloat

[davsand]

"The latest amendment to the House Republicans’ bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, singles out people with pre-existing health conditions. The amendment to the American Health Care Act, or AHCA, would allow insurance companies in the small-group and individual markets to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions if they experience a gap in coverage. People with severe health conditions would face premiums so high that they would be priced out of the market.

Amid accusations of breaking promises on pre-existing conditions, the Trump administration has suggested that states could create high-risk pools under the AHCA, a plan that itself has come under harsh criticism from groups such as the American Medical Association and AARP. Recent history shows that high-risk pools are not a solution to stabilizing insurance markets, particularly when underfunded.

Nobody has yet indicated how large the AHCA high-risk pool would be. There are currently about 31 million people insured through the small-group and individual markets, about half of whom likely have at least one pre-existing health condition..."

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/healthcare/news/2017/05/02/431698/house-health-care-plan-not-enough-keep-high-risk-pools-afloat/




The article has a chart by state that shows the anticipated shortfalls. It's scary. High risk pools don't work, and we know that. The plan they are putting forward is beyond bad, and it will fail. Badly.


Laura