Report: Risk pools extend insurance coverage now, but are 'unsustainable' as alternative to health law

Politico Pro: Report: Risk Pools Won't Work Scaled Up
The health reform law's high-risk insurance pools, one of the first pieces of the law to be enacted, are operating at a loss and prohibitively expensive -; but they also provide needed coverage to a small group of people, according to a new report out Thursday. The Commonwealth Fund report found that the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plans are providing a solid "bridge" to extend insurance coverage until the health insurance exchanges and other pieces of the law are set up in 2014. But the report's authors warn that Republican proposals to set up more widespread high-risk pools would not work (Haberkorn, 9/13).