|
 |
 |
|
Report: Healthcare law helping cover 50K people with serious conditions
Almost 50,000 Americans with serious medical conditions have gained insurance coverage thanks to the healthcare reform law, the Obama administration said in a new report Thursday.
The law set aside $5 billion for Americans who couldn't get insurance to join federally or state-run high-risk pools before 2014, when insurance plans will have to accept all applicants regardless of pre-existing conditions. The new report found that enrollment increased 400 percent between November 2010 and November 2011, with about 8,000 new applications per month in the second half of 2011.
The report comes among continued criticism that the program is not meeting its coverage goals. The Medicare actuary had originally predicted that the program would enroll 375,000 people by the end of 2010, but high enrollment costs have frequently been cited for keeping people away.
"The PCIP program has changed tens of thousands of lives, and in many cases, literally has saved lives," the report concludes.
It also breaks down the enrollment by demographics and type of illness: In 2011, the federally administered pool served 628 enrollees with cancer — including 333 with breast cancer — who were responsible for 27 percent of the pool's costs.
Other high-cost diseases covered by the pool included:
• Diseases of the circulatory system (18.6 percent of costs);
• Rehabilitative care and post-surgical care (18 percent); and
• Degenerative joint diseases (14.4 percent).
The report also found that people aged 55 and older made up the largest segment of enrollees, and women made up a majority of enrollees despite being less likely to be uninsured than men.
