Before the Affordable Care Act, 35 states plus Washington, D.C., had “high-risk health insurance pools” for people with serious and expensive health conditions. President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have proposed bringing them back. - © The Associated Press
“By the time Lance Rice was 4 years old, in the mid-1990s, treating his hemophilia and hepatitis C had become so costly his parents had exceeded their insurer’s $1 million lifetime cap on payouts. When the Rice family sought coverage from other insurers, they were turned away.
“Luckily, the family’s home state of Indiana was one of the 35 states plus Washington, D.C., with a ‘high-risk pool’ for uninsurable people with serious and chronic health problems. The premiums for the Indiana Comprehensive Health Insurance Association were about double the market rate, but Indiana covered the cost for hemophiliacs.
“In 2011, there were 226,615 people in high-risk pools nationwide. But the plans largely disappeared with the advent of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits commercial insurers from turning away customers with serious health ailments.”
