High risk insurance pools: Enrollment is up but still short of projections

The Department of Health and Human Services announced a 50 percent jump in enrollment in the health law's pre-existing condition plans during the last three months. Even with this recent jump, the total enrollment is nowhere near the administration's initial projections.

The Washington Post: Enrollment In High-Risk Insurance Pools Lagging Behind Predictions
More Americans have been signing up for special health plans designed for people with medical problems that caused them to be spurned by the insurance industry, according to new government figures. But enrollment continues to lag significantly behind original predictions (Goldstein, 2/10).

Modern Healthcare: Pre-Existing Condition Plan Sees Enrollment Gains
National enrollment in a pre-existing condition health plan created by last year's health care reform law has increased by 50 percent in the past three months to more than 12,000 Americans, HHS said Thursday. The Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan, or PCIP, is a plan for uninsured Americans with pre-existing conditions who previously had been unable to obtain affordable health insurance coverage. The program is a temporary one that HHS says serves as a bridge for those with pre-existing conditions who cannot obtain coverage until 2014, when all Americans will have access to coverage either through employers or state insurance exchanges and insurers will not be allowed to deny coverage to people based on their health status (Zigmond, 2/10).

National Journal: High-Risk Pool Enrollment Up But Still Slow
Enrollment in high-risk health insurance pools is up over the short term but is well behind projections, according to the Health and Human Services Department. Total enrollment in the insurance program is up 50 percent over the last three months, from 8,000 to 12,000, but is a far cry from the projected 375,000 the administration anticipated would enroll by the end of 2010. HHS has attributed the low enrollment to the fact that it's a new program people don't know about and are unsure how to join. The agency launched a new website today to define eligibility and benefits and provide printable brochures for organizations to share with consumers (Fung, 2/10).