Looks like Obama's high risk insurance pool for uninsured will run out of money by 2011 (Congress, legal)

[aneftp]

This is just the beginning. Just read on msnbc.com that one of the first "benefits" of the new healthcare bill will take effect on August 1st.

This is the one that supposedly will help small businesses who are deemed "high risk"

Usually they would pay $1500 a month for individual coverage, now the feds will subsidzed and they would end up paying around $500 per individual per month (still a high amount for most folks)

The catch is that you need to be uninsured for 6 months to even qualify for this program.

But the bigger issue is costs. I think the government had allocated 5 billion for this program and they are already predicting the program will run out of money by 2011, 2 years ahead of the original 2013 predicted date. Where are we going to get the money to fund these programs? Once you give someone an entitlement, they will keep on wanting more, even though there's no way to pay for it unless you ration care or increase taxes.

Coverage for uninsured in poor health has a catch - Health - Health care - msnbc.com

"To qualify for the temporary program, a person must have a pre-existing medical condition and must have been uninsured for six months or longer. The main beneficiaries are likely to be the self-employed and their families, and those who work for small employers that don't provide coverage. Only U.S. citizens and legal residents qualify.

Millions fit that description, and technical experts who advise Congress and the administration have repeatedly warned that the White House lowballed the cost. The Congressional Budget Office said last week it would take probably another $5 billion to $10 billion to fully meet the demand, about 700,000 people who would potentially sign up by 2013.

Medicare economists earlier estimated the program would sign up 375,000 people this year, but run out of money around the end of 2011.

That would be an embarrassment for Obama, since the program is a centerpiece of his plan for putting the nation on a path to coverage for all."

[delusianne]

Maybe it would have been better for us if the insurance companies had been more flexible about not kicking off/not accepting people with pre-existing conditions, over the years.

In the long run, this looks still cheaper than if those folks continued as we were -- NOT having insurance. $400/month premiums is more than $0/month premiums.

[HappyTexan]

Just tax the rich..isn't that what they are there for ..funding all these entitlement programs for American's "rights" ?

[subsound]

LoL, it hasn't even started yet...and they absolutely know how many people are going to sign up?

Even per the linked article:

"To make matters more confusing, most states already operate their own high-risk insurance pools, covering about 200,000 people in total."

How are they getting 350,000 people signed up in less then 6 months (75% increase in demand)...or 750,000 people in 2-3 years?

"The insurance program is a stopgap fix for the most vulnerable until 2014, when core provisions of the new health care law take effect."