Consumer advocates worry that health law's lifetime-limits ban can be circumvented

Politico Pro reports on questions raised about essential benefit rules, while other news outlets report on high-risk pools and preventive services coverage. 

Politico Pro: Did CMS Offer A Way Around Coverage Limits Ban?
Two sentences buried in a guidance released on Friday have set off alarms with consumer advocates, who say they may have exposed a significant loophole in the health care reform law's consumer protections. The document is a set of 22 frequently asked questions about the Obama administration's developing policy on essential health benefits. ... Though the Affordable Care Act "does not permit annual or lifetime dollar limits" for essential health benefits, the document says, "plans would be permitted to impose nondollar limits..." (Feder, 2/22).

Wisconsin Public Radio: Low Enrollment In New Federal High-Risk Insurance Pool
Low participation has eased concerns that the program will run out of money, but high health costs means there probably won't be funds left over. ... It was estimated 8000 people with pre-existing conditions would apply; two years later, only 1100 have (Mills, 2/21). 

St. Louis Beacon: Affordable Care Act Provides 3.4 Million In Missouri, Illinois With Preventive Services
[A]n estimated 54 million Americans ... now have access to preventive services, ranging from colonoscopies to mammograms, that previously had required co-payments. ... federal health officials concede it's hardly a new policy among many major businesses and insurers whose wellness programs predate ACA (Joiner, 2/21).