In Maryland, the state has established high risk pools for folks with chronic illness who are otherwise difficult to insure.
If I sold my business, I'd no longer have group health insurance. But because my son had a brain tumor when he was 10, it would be very difficult to get individual insurance for my family. However, through Maryland's high risk pool coverage, I could get insurance for about $1,000 per month, with a $1,200 annual deductible, modest co-pays, use-any-doctor-or-provider, good prescription coverage.
I do okay, income-wise, so I wouldn't be eligible for premium assistance, but for lower-income families, the state will also pay part of the premium.
Gov. Romney's plan explicitly includes state-run high risk pools as part of his plan.
And no one is forced by law to buy insurance they don't want.
sitetest
Alright. So help me understand why FR hates RomneyCare. Could you direct me to a website where I can get realistic information?
If I sold my business, I'd no longer have group health insurance. But because my son had a brain tumor when he was 10, it would be very difficult to get individual insurance for my family. However, through Maryland's high risk pool coverage, I could get insurance for about $1,000 per month, with a $1,200 annual deductible, modest co-pays, use-any-doctor-or-provider, good prescription coverage.
I do okay, income-wise, so I wouldn't be eligible for premium assistance, but for lower-income families, the state will also pay part of the premium.
MHIP? I used to work in COBRA administration in Maryland. I used to get calls from folks who’s 18 months of COBRA coverage was about to run out. Some of these people had serious on-going health problems, were still unemployed through no fault of their own and could not afford a traditional individual policy and some of the stories were heartbreaking (I’m thinking of the call I got from the mother with a four year old child who had leukemia and the widow who was about 12 months from being eligible for Medicare), I would refer such people to the MHIP program. While a “state” program, subsidized by state and federal funds, I believe the coverage is actually provided through CareFirst BCBS.