White House Tweaks High-Risk Pools To Save Money
The Obama administration has made several changes to save money in the federal high-risk insurance pools created under the Affordable Care Act, out of concern that the $5 billion program would run out of money. Among various changes, the administration has increased enrollees' maximum amount of out-of-pocket costs from $4,000 to $6,250 and reduced payment rates for providers, especially for hospitals treating a large volume of enrollees.
- "Feds Increase Costs to High-Risk Pool Members" (Galewitz, "Capsules," Kaiser Health News, 2/14).