Those of you with pre-existing conditions will be able to sign up for the high risk pool insurance coverage 90 days from right now. Some additional details here:
* Applicants must be U.S. citizens who are not covered by another form of insurance, have been denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition and have been without health care coverage for at least six months.
* Older people can’t be charged more than four times younger ones.
* The plan must cover at least 65 percent of participants’ health costs and follow annual out-of-pocket limits set in the bill.
* Premiums will be based on "standard rates," which states define as average premiums charged by private insurers for similar coverage.
Obviously you should expect to pay more in premiums than someone without a pre-existing condition, but not nearly as much as you would have prior to the reform law. Obviously, we'll know more as we get closer to July. But this Kaiser article is pretty comprehensive in terms of laying out how HHS will tackle this.
For what it's worth:
HHS spokesman Nicholas Papas said "It would be premature for us to discuss many of these details as this work is ongoing, but we will be working closely with states as we establish these pools and are committed to meeting the deadlines set out in the law. We are confident that the high risk pool will offer affordable insurance to Americans who are uninsured because of pre-existing conditions."