The date has passed for states to notify the Feds whether they will accept additional responsibilities for uninsured patients.
The New York Times reported on Friday,
"Friday is the deadline for states to tell the Obama administration whether they want to run the high-risk insurance pool for uninsured people with pre-existing conditions, or whether they will leave the task to Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services."
Some states such as California already have a Major Risk Insurance Board, and some funding for the uninsured through the Major Risk Insurance Program. The coverage is not inexpensive, has a low cap, but does subsdize the plan using not Medi-cal, but programs such as Kaiser Permanente, Bllue Shield, and others depending on the region of California. If one can afford it, it does work well, and is transparent to providers. ie, it looks like private insurance. (meaning the provider does not have to be a medi-cal provider.
"Democratic officials in Montana, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin, among other states, said they intended to operate the program under contract with the federal government. They were joined by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, a Republican, who gave a rousing endorsement of President Obama’s health plan at a news conference."
"But Republican officials in Georgia, Indiana, Nebraska and Nevada turned down the opportunity to run the high-risk pool, as did at least one Democratic governor, Dave Freudenthal of Wyoming."
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